THE Consolacion Municipal Government has set a speed limit for all motorists using roads in its jurisdiction.
“There are so many commercial establishment along the road. Pedestrians become vulnerable if motorists don’t observe the speed limit,” Mayor Teresa Alegado told Superbalita Cebu in Cebuano on Sunday, Feb. 17.
Ordinance 27, or the Speed Limit Ordinance, sets speed limits for all types of vehicles traversing major and minor roads in the town.
It allows the mayor to purchase speed guns, speed enforcement cameras, speed limit signs and printout citation tickets using municipal funds.
Alegado signed the ordinance on Dec. 27, 2018. A copy of the ordinance was received by Office of the Provincial Secretary last Jan. 31 for approval by the Provincial Board (PB).
The ordinance was endorsed to the committee on public safety, peace and order led by PB Member Sun Shimura.
Republic Act 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, instructs motorists to slow down when they approach schools.
Allowed speed
The ordinance states that buses and trucks should not go beyond the speed of 30 kilometers per hour (kph) while traversing provincial and municipal roads and 20kph while traversing barangay roads or streets.
Private vehicles, motorcycles and public utility jeepneys cannot go beyond 40 kph on provincial roads, 30 kph on municipal roads and 20 kph on barangay roads.
Violators will be fined P500 and P1,500 for the first and second offense, respectively. They will also have to attend a four-hour seminar on road safety.
Third-time offenders face a fine of P2,500 and their vehicles will be impounded.
Serial violators may face imprisonment of up to 30 days, depending on the court’s decision.
Section 8 of the ordinance, however, exempts drivers of vehicles transporting doctors or health workers to an emergency situation or emergency vehicles going to a place where an accident happened, drivers of ambulances that carry wounded persons or persons with urgent medical needs, drivers of military trucks and drivers of patrol cars chasing criminals.
Also exempted from fines and penalties are law enforcement officers who overtake vehicles while attempting to arrest traffic violators, drivers of fire trucks responding to fire incidents and drivers of vehicles transporting government officials or dignitaries.
Alegado said her traffic enforcers could only issue citation tickets to violators, as the Land Transportation Office 7 had yet to authorize them to issue temporary operator’s permits. (FROM SCG OF SUPERBALITA CEBU / KAL)