Saturday, August 18, 2007 Traffic enforcers to face probe for violations
TRAFFIC enforcers who do not conscientiously enforce traffic laws, especially the one that prohibits vehicles from stopping on passenger crosswalks, should be investigated.
Cebu City Councilor Edgardo Labella said he received complaints against motorists and public utility vehicles drivers who stop for the red light on crosswalks or pedestrian lanes.
This forces pedestrians to cross in the middle of the street, or navigate and zigzag through “bumper-to-bumper” vehicles.
These expose them to great risks, like being sideswiped by speeding vehicles in the opposite lane or getting run over by vehicles when the traffic signal turns green, the councilor said.
Parking
“It would really do well to be aware that Section 1 a and b of Article XIV of the Revised Traffic Code of Cebu City generally prohibits the stopping or parking of a vehicle on crosswalks and within 20 feet of a crosswalk at an intersection, or within 20 feet upon the approach to any mid-block crosswalk,” Labella said.
He said pedestrian safety has taken a backseat because traffic enforcers tend to turn a blind eye on such a violation.
“Most, if not all of the concerned pedestrians seem to wonder why Citom (City Traffic Operations Management) personnel manning intersections with marked crosswalks appear limp on reprimanding at the least, if not apprehending, wayward drivers relative to stopping on crosswalks as much as they seem to be doing so against alleged violators of the Anti-Jaywalking Ordinance of Cebu City,” he said.
Implementation
Trauma surgeon Rafael Consunji, president of Safe Kids Philippines, a nongovernment organization dedicated to preventing injuries to children, said last June that lack of reinforcement in the implementation of laws is one of the causes of children’s deaths.
He reported that 24 percent of schoolchildren die from transport accidents.
Next week, Labella will ask colleagues to support his proposed measure. (RHM)
