A cyclist uses the bike lane in Mandaue City. CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa
MANDAUE CITY, Cebu—Following two incidents of road rage involving bikers, a Mandaue City Councilor has decided to push for the full implementation of the Bike Ordinance here.
City Councilor Jimmy Lumapas, the chairman of the Committee on Transportation, said he will talk to Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (TEAM) executive director Edwin Jumao-as about the implementation of said ordinance.
The Comprehensive Bicycle Ordinance authored by Lumapas was passed by the city council on the third reading last November 11, 2020 and was signed by Mayor Jonas Cortes on December 7, 2020.
READ: Cyclists in Mandaue with no safety gear to be fined
Under the ordinance, bicyclists must wear helmets and reflectorized vests or bright-colored shirts while riding their bikes.
The cyclists should also keep two hands on the bicycle’s handlebars unless doing hand signals or when the rider is a person with a disability (PWD).
The ordinance also prohibits cyclists from carrying back riders while on transit, and they are required to carry only minimal loads because bicycles are not designed to carry much cargo.
Cyclists are prohibited from counterflowing or maneuvering between vehicles outside their designated lanes.
Violators of this standard for defensive riding such as no helmet, blinker, reflectorized vest, will pay P50. For offenses such as counterflowing, overloading, no brakes, and not using the bike lanes, the violators will pay P100.
Lumapas explained the minimal fines of the ordinance.
“Nag public hearing ta (before) gipanawagan nato ang mga nagbiseklita. Ang Mandaue gud, kadaghanan sa naggamit og biseklita padung man sa trabaho, so mao nang gamay ang penalty. Ang atoa lang naay penalty para makahibaw sila nga nakaviolate sila,” said Jumaos-as.
(We held a public hearing before with those who use bicycles. Her in Mandaue, most of those who bike are those going to work, that’s why the penalty is small. We just want to have a penalty to let them know that they violated the ordinance.)
Those who cannot pay will have to do one hour community service with TEAM.
The call to fully implement the ordinance for proper awareness came up after two consecutive viral road rage incidents involving bikers happened in the city recently.
The latest road rage incident happened on September 5, 2021, between a group of bikers and a multicab driver along the intersection of M. Quizon and P. Ouano Streets in Barangay Alang-Alang.
READ: Another road rage incident in Mandaue: Bikers vs Multicab driver
Accoding to the driver of the multicab who requested anonymity, the bikers got angry after he sounded his horn while cruising along M. Quezon road because the bikers were cruising by group, eating up the entire road.
The driver had photos to prove his claim.
A designated bike lane is actually present along the whole stretch of M. Quizon although a drainage project has affected parts of the bike lane.
The driver also admitted to have shouted at the bikers once he passed them, which may have triggered the commotion.
The first viral road rage incident happened on August 22, 2021, when bikers punched a bread delivery driver at the intersection of Hernan Cortes and A.S. Fortuna Streets after the driver sideswiped one of their female companions.
READ: Victim, bikers in Mandaue road rage settle amicably
Meanwhile, TEAM warned that drivers of vehicles caught using bike lanes will be issued a citation ticket.
The penalty for this is P1,000.
/bmjo