City to strictly enforce ‘no helmet, no travel’ policy

THE Mabalacat City Government will strictly implement the “No Helmet, No Travel” policy starting February 2020.

Mayor Crisostomo Garbo, a motorcycle enthusiast, vowed to lead the implementation of the law starting February 1.

“I’ll man the roads. I’ll personally do this,” Garbo said.

The policy is based on Republic Act No. 10054 or the “Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009.

Under the law, all motorcycle riders (the driver and back rider) must wear standard protective helmets while driving motorcycles, whether on long or short drives, at any time of the day, in any type of road and highway.

According to the mayor, studies showed that helmets are estimated to be 37 percent effective in preventing fatal injuries and 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries to motorcyclists.

“Wearing of helmets will greatly reduce fatalities in road accidents and would also boost a sense of discipline to all motorcycle riders,” Garbo said.

Aside from the helmet policy, the city will also strictly enforce the provisions of Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation Code on the proper use of the inner and outer lanes of major roads and the national highways.

Garbo appealed to motorcycle and tricycle drivers to “make it a habit” to use the outer lanes of the roads to avoid penalties and accidents.

“Tricycles and motorcycles, please stay on the outermost lane. We’ve already cleared any obstructions that are still left on roads particularly in main thoroughfares to ensure the safety of all our motorists,” Garbo appealed.

The United Nations (UN) reported that about 1.3 million people die every year around the world from road traffic crashes and half of those people are pedestrians, bicyclists or people on motorcycles.

The UN General Assembly proclaimed the period from 2011 to 2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety to spur national and global efforts to halt or reverse the increasing trend in road traffic deaths and injuries worldwide.

Last year, 75 percent of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office responses were motorcycle-related accidents.

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