MOTORCYCLE riders with no helmets and proper safety gear will be be arrested and fined beginning next Monday, Metro Manila Development Authority acting chairman Thomas Orbos said.
Orbos made the announcement following a meeting with federation of motorcycle riders at the MMDA main office along Orense Street in Makati City Thursday.
“We invited them precisely to discuss how to solve the problem on traffic. They [riders] are important because next to private vehicles, they are the second biggest,” he said.
During the meeting, officers and members of the Motorcycle Philippines Federation agreed to the agency’s proposal to revive the motorcycle lanes scheme to be implemented along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, Circumferential Road-5, Commonwealth Avenue and President Diosdado Macapagal Avenue.
“There should be proper gear, helmet and the headlights are on even during daylight. They should wear gloves, long pants and shoes. We observed that some of the riders are just wearing shorts and slippers, and others have no side mirrors. They should wear proper attire along the Motorcycle Lanes,” said Orbos.
The MMDA will be having a dry-run activity on Saturday and Sunday to inform and remind the motorcycle riders about the reimplementation of the scheme.
“This Saturday and Sunday we will go there and [inform] erring motorcycle riders. Monday we will enforce and this is enforcement of regulations,” said Orbos.
He added they would be issuing traffic violation receipts to violators on Monday.
Undet the scheme, the designated motorcycle lane shall be the fourth lane from the right sidewalk and shall run the length of Edsa and other assigned areas.
The lanes are “non-exclusive,” which means that private vehicles may also use them.
The establishment of the motorcycle lanes is based on Memorandum Circular 12-01 Series of 2012 approved by the Metro Manila Council.
Orbos said the implementation of the motorcycle lanes is also necessary to promote a more orderly flow of traffic along the major thoroughfare and reduce the number of fatal accidents involving motorcycles.
Based on the MMC memorandum circular, motorcycle riders may deviate from the motorcycle lanes when making a turn or u-turn at authorized intersections and u-turn slots, in which case they are to gradually shift lanes not less than 200 meters away from the turning point, while making the appropriate signals.
Study showed that motorcycle crashes remained the leading cause of death and injury on Metro Manila roads.
The 2015 Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System (MMRAS) report stated that motorcycles have the “highest fatality accident rate” with 262 the total number of deaths, followed by trucks (129) and private cars (125).