NEW MOTORCYCLE LAW
Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III has appealed for public cooperation in government’s implementation of the law which prohibits small children from riding motorcycles for their own safety.
Finding nothing wrong with the new law, Davide disagreed with comments from some commuters that Republic Act 10666 was “anti-poor”.
According to Davide, while he sympathizes with the public’s difficulty in finding a suitable mode of transportation for their children, especially in remote areas, the safety and the life of the children should be given utmost consideration.
“Naay mga bata nga walay helmet. Ang uban kay dalaon ang baby sa simbahan para pabunyagan while ang inahan mag backride sa motor. Maluoy pud ta ba,” the governor lamented.
(There are children who board motorcycles without a helmet; and then there are those who bring their babies to church to be baptized while the mothers ride the back of motorcycles. I really feel sorry for them.)
Informal commuter polls conducted on the implementation of R.A. 10666 or the Children’s Safety on Motorcycles Act of 2015 showed that while many people welcomed the new law, there were those who questioned its practicability, citing the country’s lack of transportation facilities.
The law, which took effect last May 19, makes it unlawful for any person to drive a motorcycle with a child on board on public roads where traffic is heavy, there is a high density of fast-moving vehicles or where the speed limit is more than 60/kph unless the child passenger can comfortably reach his/her feet on the standard foot peg of the motorcycle, the child’s arms can reach around and grasp the waist of the motorcycle rider; and the child is wearing a standard protective helmet.
The law shall not apply to cases where the child to be transported requires immediate medical attention.
For everyone’s safety, Davide said that he agreed with the law’s objectives and appealed for the public to accept reality.
In Lapu-Lapu City, the City Traffic Management System (CTMS) yesterday started warning motorcycles with children passengers whose feet do not reach the standard foot peg.
Roderick Daño of CTMS said he instructed traffic enforcers to accost all motorcycle riders with children 10 years old and below on board.
He added that a motorcycle is only allowed to have one back rider and both the passenger and driver must wear protective helmets. No one should sit in front of the driver.
No one was issued a citation ticket as traffic enforcers chose to give violators verbal warnings on the first day of the law’s implementation.
According to Daño, many of those accosted complained against the law, saying that it was practical for their children to board the motorcycle especially during school days.
Riders also cited that it was a faster way to commute as motorcycles are able to weave through traffic.
Daño hoped that the Land Transportation Office will deputize them to issue Temporary Operator’s Permits (TOP) where the penalties are higher to strongly enforce the law against violators.
Currently, the mandate of CTMS only allows enforcers to issue citation tickets which carry a fine of P100 for traffic infractions.