HE SAW the law enforcers at the intersection. This habal-habal (motorcycle taxi) driver told his passengers to get off and cross the junction by foot. On the other side, past the enforcers, he picked them up again.
The car driver kept his mobile phone near him and below the dashboard, unseen by law enforcers. He knew they could catch him at the stop sign but not when his vehicle is moving.
These are some of the ways drivers are trying to go around the two laws that recently took effect. The law against carrying children on motorcycles took effect last Friday. The law that prohibits the use of mobile phones while driving became effective a day before, or last Thursday.
The ingenuity of some of our drivers went into full force to look for ways to beat the laws and escape arrest or payment of fines. This is the reason implementation of these two laws is imperative to ensure road safety. If drivers can get away with violating these laws, then those road accidents and congestion that were the bases for the measures would go on unhindered.
Motorcycle users, including habal-habal drivers, will be penalized if they have a small child as a passenger. The Children’s Safety on Motorcycle Act of 2015, or Republic Act No. 10666, took effect last May 19. It bans minors from sitting in front of a motorcycle rider.
Children could be back riders if they have the approved protective helmet and they could comfortably reach the foot peg and reach around the waist of the rider. Penalty for the first violation is a P3,000 fine; second offense, P5,000; third offense, P10,000 and a one-month suspension of driver’s license; and fourth offense, automatic revocation of driver’s license.
On the other hand, Republic Act 10913 or the Anti-Distracted Driving Act prohibits persons from checking their phones while driving. It took effect last May 18.
“Distracted driving” is defined as using telecommunications or entertainment devices while in motion or temporarily stopped at a red traffic light.
Basis of the law is the record of accidents caused by unrestrained use of electronic mobile devices on the road. A National Statistics Office report said using cellular phones while driving is one of the top causes of road crash incidents.
A special report on www.sunstar.com.ph on the habal-habal as the new king of the road cited a World Health Organization study that said half, or 53 percent, of reported road traffic fatalities in the Philippines in 2015 were motorcycle or tricycle riders. In Cebu City, the report said, the Cebu City Traffic Office recorded 12,094 accidents last year, which resulted in 58 deaths and 3,385 injuries.
Drivers are prohibited from using phones to call, text, play games, or surf the Internet while in motion or temporarily stopped at a red light or at an intersection. Also covered are bicycles, pedicabs, trolleys, wagons, carriages, and carts, among others.
Implementation of these two laws would be challenging. While the laws mean to impose road safety, they do not address the reasons why people ride habal-habal or why they use devices to seek alternates to escape traffic gridlock.