Crackdown begins on motorcycle riders without helmets

(Updated 11:44 a.m.) - The spectacle of entire bare-headed families dangerously riding a motorcycle may soon come to an end, as the government has begun enforcing a new helmet law. At least 20 motorcycle riders face penalties after they were caught violating the Motorcycle Helmet Act in Quezon City by Land Transportation Office (LTO) operatives on Friday, the first day of implementation of the new law.

 

LTO operatives stationed themselves at Commonwealth Avenue, Philcoa and Quezon Memorial Circle, radio dzBB's Manny Vargas reported.

 

The LTO is implementing Republic Act 10054, the Motorcycle Helmet Act, which requires motorists to wear either a half-faced helmet with clear visor or a full-faced helmet with a clear visor to ensure riders' protection.

 

The helmets must also have an Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) sticker, a requirement from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that indicates the compliance of manufacturers and traders with mandatory safety standards for their products.

The Motorcycle Helmet Act was made effective Friday.

 

According to the law, violators were to be fined as follows: 

 

In the first few hours of the implementation, the LTO teams flagged down a family of three aboard a motorcycle, as not all the riders wore a helmet.

 

Another violator was a member of the Quezon City government's Department of Public Order and Safety, the report said.

 

While the DPOS member was wearing a helmet, the helmet did not have the required ICC sticker.

 

His motorcycle was also found to be unregistered, the report added.

 

Many of those caught without ICC stickers on their helmets claimed they had just returned to Metro Manila after they spent the holidays in the provinces. 

 

ICC stickers

 

Motorcycle owners were given up to December 28, 2012 to avail of the ICC stickers.

 

The DTI first released ICC stickers in 2009 as part of the Motorcycle Helmet Act.

 

Despite the three-year lead time, only 1.5 million helmets have been stamped with ICC stickers, not even half of the registered 3.2 million motorcycles in the country.

 

This means 1.7 million motorcycle owners have not availed of the ICC stickers, not including their passengers who are also required to wear helmets with ICC stickers. 

 

Determining helmet safety

 

Motorcycle manufacturers and transportation officials reminded bike riders and owners to ensure their helmets are safe.

 

The outer shell, inner foam, and comfort liner of a helmet should be of high quality, they said.

 

“Kunyari tinamaan 'yung ulo ng isang rider, siya (inner foam of helmet) 'yung mag a-absorb. Normally ito 'yung unang masisira,” said Ryan Chao, Manager of Motorworld Philippines, in a report on GMA News' Unang Balita on Friday.

 

Chao added that the inner foam needs to be thick enough to make sure it can withstand maximum force. 

 

Meanwhile, Trade and Industry Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya said in another interview that as long as the ICC sticker is not fake or tampered or the helmet is undamaged, then the sticker guarantees helmet safety.

 

But some motorcyclists claim that there are helmets with ICC stickers that are not durable.

 

“Ang dami ko naman nakikitang mga [helmet na] China made. Ipalo mo lang sa pader basag 'yan,” an unidentified rider said in the Unang Balita report.

 

Meanwhile, Chao said a helmet without an ICC sticker may still be safe for usage, citing helmets sold abroad that have passed American and European safety standards, as shown in their labels.

 

“That should be recognized by us as well,” acknowledged the DTI's Maglaya.

 

“If this is properly verified, na talagang ito ay nanggaling doon sa bansang iyon and was also tested and is compliant to that standard [in that country] then okay na siya,” she said.  —With a report from Andrei Medina/KG/HS/YA, GMA News