Safety, not speed, comes first.
Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama dropped his earlier idea of banning motorcycles in the South Road Properties (SRP) and asked traffic officials to put up a motorcycle lane instead.
“When you close access, you don’t solve the problem,” Rama said.
Cars, trucks and motorcycles weave in and out of lanes in the national highway of the South Road Properties (SRP). Almost half of the road accidents here every year involve motorbikes.
The mayor issued the directive after last Tuesday’s accident in the South Coastal Road where a Dutch national was killed when the motorcycle he was riding crashed into an oncoming 10-wheeler truck.
City officials have been seeking ways to reduce the frequency of road accidents in the SRP highway, which now average at over 200 a year, with almost half of them involving motorbikes.
Last month, ‘they enforced a 1973 Traffic Code city ordinance which sets a maximum speed limit of 30 to 40 kilometers per hour’ to the dismay of motorists, who like to drive fast on the wide lanes of the SRP highway, which connects the cities of Cebu and Talisay and destinations farther south in the province.
Cars, trucks and motorbikes occupy the same lanes, sometimes weaving in and out, ignoring a previous 60 kph speed limit for national roads set by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Dutch national Harold Maniora, who lived in Talisay City, was heading home when a cement mixer truck of GEO Construction coming from Talisay City turned left on a crossroad to El Pardo Road.
The motorbike rammed the right side of the truck. Maniora was wearing a crash helmet but the impact of the collision threw him off the motorbike and onto the truck’s path. The truck driver claimed that he didn’t notice the approaching motorcycle.
RIGHTMOST SIDE
The new motorcycle lane will be located on the rightmost side of the road since this is the assigned section for slow-moving vehicles, said Joy Tumulak, operations director of the Cebu City Traffic Operations Management (Citom).
The new lines will still have to be marked out on the highway.
Tumulak said he believes this will be effective in preventing motor accidents in the SRP as long as vehicles stay in their designated lanes.
Most accidents that occur along the SPR route are caused by overspeeding, he said.
In January, 25 accidents were recorded. More than half or 14 cases involved motorcycles, he said.
Motorcycle mishaps in the SRP have risen over the years from 45 crashes in 2008, then breaching the 100-mark in 2011.
Last year, there were 110 motorcycle accidents on the highway out of a total of 245 road accidents.
The mayor directed Citom to coordinate with the DPWH-7 since the South Coastal Road is a national road under its jurisdiction.
Last month, Mayor Rama said he wanted motorcycles banned from the SRP after learning that almost half of the accidents involved two-wheel vehicles but he first had to check its legal basis.