THE Davao City Transportation and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) warned against children and other individuals riding customized brakeless mini-bicycles along major thoroughfares.
CTTMO Head Dionisio Abude said in a radio interview that they had received reports of children riding these bicycles along major highways in the city.
Abude said the Vice Mayor's Office had sent his office photos of children.
He said their personnel had monitored groups of children riding these customized bikes on some roads in the city, particularly along the Diversion Road near the Gap Farm Resort
Abude said these bicycles are risky when being used on roads as this because of the risk of accidents and endangers the lives of children and other motorists.
"Makadistorbo gyud. Delikado kaayo sa mga motorista nga kung ang motorista na hinuon magkaproblema inkaso madisgrasya (They are a menace because they can be the cause of accidents or put other motorists in danger),” he said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
The CTTMO head said they were able to confiscate some bikes during one of their operations. The minors caught in the operation were not immediately released unless they brought their parents and talked with them.
Abude appealed to parents to prevent their children from riding these customized bikes on major roads to avoid accidents. He also emphasized that these bicycles are not safe on public roads.
The 19th City Council passed City Ordinance 0068-2021, or the Amended Bike Lane Ordinance, states that “bicycle registration is mandatory for the purpose of orienting the bicycle or light mobility vehicle” in 2021.
The ordinance requires registration of bicycles by its owners for P20 at the barangays.
As of now, he said the registration within barangays has not yet started as they are still finalizing its implementation.
Requirements that bikers should prepare before registering their bikes include (1) helmet or protective headgear, (2) reflectors or other warning lights, (3) bell or horn, and (4) working brakes.
During the assessment, the biker must be able to present all four requirements.
CTTMO will be collecting all the registrations from different barangays in the city to create a database of all bikers in the city.