Of Riders, Roads and Regulations

It was in the early years of the new millennium when motorcycles started to swarm over the streets of Metro Manila.

I can, in fact, assume that whosoever was the brainchild of promoting XRMs here in the Philippines would have taken a VERY big amount of bonus.

This happened primarily because people would want to at least reduce their cost of spending in transportation. Thus, the use of small motorcycles is a hit, particularly to the male workers and company messengers.

Rider friends told me that they actually save a lot since they started using motorcycles. Plus, of course, they would like to add the fact that using motorcycles is "iwas traffic dahil madaling sumingit sa pagitan ng mga jeeps/cars/bus".

And today, due to the continuing increase of people who purchase motorcycles, dealers make it easy for consumers to buy a unit in good credit terms. If my friend taxi driver is correct, he says that you can purchase and get a unit in the same day as long as you have a 10,000 php downpayment to give. And dealers do not usually do credit investigations. They ask only a minimal documents for proof of income (payslip, maybe, or other statements).

However, with the increase of riders on the Metro road comes the increase of motorcycle-related accidents. It is very alarming because in morning shows like Unang Hirit (gma) and Umagang Kay Ganda (abs-cbn), they report at least 2 motorcycle accidents per day.

I have a former high school classmate who was killed at her prime age of 20's due to a motorcycle accident. Her husband, who was driving, survived but is paralyzed.

An officemate once told me, "Hindi na ako gagamit ng sasakyang may dalawang gulong. Napaka-delikado. Isang maliit na bato lang ang katapat niyan, aksidente ang tuloy". Which is true. Compared to cars and jeepneys with four wheels, motorcycles are prone to imbalance when you accidentally roll over a stone or a slump in the road.

In 2008, road authorities have already increased their regulations by requiring riders to wear helmets, and limiting only two passengers per motorcycle.

But seems it is still not enough, because a lot of accidents still continue to happen.

• I believe riders should be very well-educated on their responsibilities when using the roads. I have seen riders who speed up and try to race over cars and jeepneys. Some riders also do not want to follow regulations on the proper wearing of helmets. One commentator said, "Sa ulo dapat sinusuot ang helmet, hindi sa siko". Others try to overload motorcycles-even trying to allow 4 passengers to ride.

• Is it the LTO who regulates motorcycle drivers? I hope they ensure that license applicants are well-educated on all road precautions and measures. I see a lot of young people (below 18 years old), especially in the provinces, who freely use motorcycles. Bad thing is, when they involve in accidents, you cannot apprehend full exercise of laws because they are below 18 years old. Sana rin walang nabibigyan nang lagay in exchange of giving Driver's License.

• MMDA should continue to tighten their watch on violators. Wala rin sanang humihingi ng lagay. Violators should be apprehended. Kahit na pulis o konsehal ng bayan, tanod o kung sinuman siya, if he/she is violating the regulations, should not be tolerated.

• A dedicated motorcycle lane in the streets or hi-ways? It may be costly. But if it saves lives, then why not?