LTO exec: Cauldrons, baseball gear being used as helmets despite two-year-old law

Thought cauldrons were only for cooking? Some Filipinos have used these kitchen tools to try to skirt the country’s two-year-old law on the proper use of helmets, a Land Transportation Office (LTO) official said Tuesday.

 

Daisy Jacobo, chief of the LTO traffic safety division, admitted that a lot of Filipinos are still uninformed about the proper use of helmets when riding motorcycles.

 

“’Yung iba hindi tama ‘yung sinusuot sa ulo nila. Akala nila puwede na ‘yung helmet na pang-bisikleta o kaya ‘yung pang-baseball. ‘Yung iba pa nga, kaldero na ang ginagamit,” Jacobo said in a phone interview.

 

She added that some motorcycle riders even entirely ignore rules on wearing helmets, thinking they can get away with it.

 

“Akala kasi nila hindi sila huhulihin, ‘Yung iba, wala talagang matakot mahuli. Sa tingin nila hindi sila mahuhuli kasi makakatakas sila gamit ‘yung motor nila,” she said.

 

On Monday, a photo contributed by Kariz Lanting via YouScoop showed a couple riding a motorcycle with their child, who did not have any protective gear on its head. Another YouScoop photo from Mark Darius showed an unidentified cop driving his motorcycle without wearing a helmet. 

 

2400 violators since January

 

Two years ago, the government passed Republic Act (RA) 10054, which mandates all motorcycle riders to wear standard protective helmets while driving.

 

Section 3 of the law states that “all motorcycle riders, including drivers and back riders, shall at all times wear standard protective motorcycle helmets while driving, whether long or short drives, in any type of road and highway.”

 

The legislation also prescribes fines of up to P10,000 for persons who are caught not wearing protective motorcycle helmets.

 

Despite the enactment of the law, over 2,400 motorcycle riders have been caught not wearing helmets while driving along Metro Manila roads, based on data from the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

 

The MMDA records also showed that 240 violators of the “no crash helmet” policy were apprehended in September alone.

 

This is despite the fact that the Department of Health identified motorcycles as the “most common mode of transportation to cause injuries” last year. The agency added that one in every two motorcycle riders who figured in an accident last year were declared dead on arrival.   

Jacobo attributed the high number of violators of RA 10054 to the lack of proper information drive on the proper use of helmets.

 

“Kulang talaga ang information materials namin on this matter. Kaya nga sa mga susunod na araw ay paiigtingin pa namin ang information drive sa proper use of helmets. Ganoon kaseryoso ang campaign na ito,” she said.

 

Helmets save lives

 

The LTO official likewise reminded motorcycle-riding Filipinos of the importance of wearing helmets when driving.

 

“Ang pagsusuot ng helmet ay hindi nakakapigil ng sakuna, pero malaking tulong ito kapag naganap na ang aksidente dahil ito ang tatanggap ng shock at tindi ng basag,” she said.

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) described the use of helmets as “the single most effective way of reducing head injuries and fatalities resulting from motorcycle and bicycle crashes.”

 

The United Nations agency also said that wearing a helmet has been proven to decrease the severity of injuries among motorcyclists by about 70 percent.  

The WHO added that the use of helmets also reduces the likelihood of death during motorcycle accidents by almost 40 percent, and also decreases the costs of healthcare associated with these accidents. — RSJ, GMA News