A few days ago, a family of three was involved in an accident right in front of OpinYon’s Laguna office. A motorcycle slammed into the open door of a pickup truck parked on the curbside, causing the occupants to slide off into the road.
Fortunately, the occupants (which included a young child) sustained only minor injuries and were immediately given first aid by the staff of a nearby music school before being brought to the hospital.
Later on, we learned from witnesses that the injuries could’ve been much more severe.
First off, only the driver, a male, was wearing a helmet, while the two other occupants (which we deduced to be his wife and child) did not. It was a wonder, witnesses pointed out later, that the two weren’t hit by another vehicle after being thrown off into the road.
Second, the motorcycle was speeding on a busy road and the driver wasn’t able to stop on time to avoid the door.
-o0o-
According to Republic Act 10054 (Motorcycle Helmet Act), "all motorcycle riders, including drivers and back riders, shall at all times wear standard protective motorcycle helmets while driving, whether long or short drives, in any type of road and highway." Take note of that, motorists: drivers AND back riders.
Come to think of it, “triple-riders” are also technically prohibited by law, while children riding on motorcycles, according to Republic Act 10666 (Children’s Safety on Motorcycle Act of 2015), are severely restricted.
According to that law, “It shall be unlawful for anyone to drive a two-wheeled motorcycle with a child on board on public roads when: a) there is a heavy volume of vehicles; b) there is high density of fast-moving vehicles, or c) the speed limit imposed is more than 60/kph,” unless if they could comfortably reach the foot peg of the motorcycle and reach around the waist of the rider, as well as wearing standard helmets.
And yet I’ve noticed that even along the National Highway, there are many instances where only the driver of the motorcycle wear helmets – right under the noses of traffic enforcers!
-o0o-
I remember some motorcycle enthusiasts lambasting the social media pages of some vehicle-oriented publications such as Visor and Top Gear Philippines as being extremely “biased” against motorcycle riders.
The reason: hardly a day goes by without them posting a video of an accident or a blunder involving a motorcycle rider.
Here’s a riposte for motorcycle enthusiasts: instead of complaining about the barrage of so-called “kamote riders” in the Philippines’ social media pages, why don’t they themselves lead the campaign to ensure that motorcycle drivers and riders alike will be safe on our roads?
#UnCommonSense #MotorcycleSafety #Riders #KamoteRiders #JamesVeloso #OpinYon