After student's death, MMDA requires cement mixers to carry warning signs

After a 20-year-old student was crushed to death by a cement mixer truck last week, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino on Saturday signed a memorandum circular requiring owners, operators, and drivers of cement trucks or mixers to put visible "Loaded With Cement... Keep Distance" signs on their vehicles. "Cement truck drivers are usually in a hurry to reach the construction sites when they are carrying wet cement, and this raises the risks they pose on other road users," Tolentino said in an article posted Sunday evening on the MMDA website. As such, he said cement mixer trucks "create serious risks for motorists and pedestrians, far more severe than the other smaller vehicles on the road." Marie Cherrie Inzon was pinned to death after a cement mixer truck went out of control and turned on its side in Quezon City. Her family has since forgiven the driver of the truck, who sought forgiveness after maintaining what happened was an accident. Inzon is to be buried on Monday. Tolentino said the signs would alert motorists and prompt them to maintain a safe distance from the cement trucks or mixers to avoid an accident. Under the memorandum circular, the visible sign should be at least 30 cm tall and must be prominently displayed at the back and both sides of the truck. Violators face a fine of P500 and other penalties for other traffic violations. The MMDA has recorded at least 1,512 vehicular accidents involving heavy equipment for the first quarter of 2013, killing 12 and injuring 268. The agency has also proposed the reclassification of cement mixers from ordinary trucks to dangerous vehicles. — BM, GMA News