Bill proposes tricycle lanes on provincial roads

Saying it would help avoid road accidents, a lawmaker has pitched for the designation of tricycle lanes in provincial roads or highways.

House Bill No. 2118 filed by Camarines Norte Representative Rosemarie Panotes seeks to authorize local government units except in Metro Manila “to designate tricycle lanes in public roads or highways within their respective territorial jurisdiction.”

“The designation of tricycle lanes will help avoid incidents of road collisions as tricycles will not have to maneuver for road spaces like constantly moving from one place to another just to be able to move forward or ahead of other vehicles,” Panotes said in the bill’s explanatory note.

She added, “this will also show some sort of discipline among the drivers of tricycle and other vehicles as they will have to stick to the designated lane and will not continuously swerve that cause in some cases not only traffic altercations among drivers but also accidents that even further delay travel time.”

According to Tina Panganiban-Perez’s report on “24 Oras,” the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group has recorded a total of 1,033 accidents involving tricycles nationwide in 2021.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority also reported that 1,652 accidents in Metro Manila took place in 2021, which resulted in nine deaths, injuries and destruction to properties.

The report said Metro Manila was not included in the bill as there is already the Metro Manila Council that governs the cities in the metropolis.

The National Confederation of Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (NACTODAP) said it supports the bill.

“Matagal na po naming hinihingi na magkaroon ng batas para riyan…para malinaw po sa hanay ng tricyle kung saan ang punta namin sa mga darating na panahon.  Kami po ay welcome sa batas na ‘yan,” the group’s president Ariel Lim said.

“Pag-aralan ng municipal or city planning officer kung saan kami pwedeng pumasok, kung pakanan ba o pakaliwa papunta sa isang lugar na paghahatiran namin ng aming mga pasahero,” he added.

NACTODAP said at least one million tricycles are registered with the Land Transportation Office.  However, two million others are plying the roads without franchises, it added.

The bill is pending at the committee level in the House of Representatives.—LDF, GMA News