Motorcycle safety (2)

1 July 2013

The accident I had involving a motorcycle, not too long ago, and which I related in more detail in my last column (PJ, 27Jun’13), made me better appreciate the dangers that the motorcycle riders are subjected to, and realize how unprotected they actually are.

I believe the motorcycle has become an attractive option for a great majority of our population mainly because it makes good economic sense for them (either in terms of their work or small businesses) to acquire one, given not only the increasing cost of commuting, but also the daily hassle one usually goes through doing it. There certainly are benefits to be enjoyed by a commuter who opts to acquire a motorcycle, especially in terms of economizing in transportation cost, convenience and mobility. However, as a trade-off, they unfortunately have to contend with the additional risk of injury, or even death, from an accident that can happen.

The growth of our motorcycle riding community is galloping at a fast rate (probably already numbering more than 4 million as of today), and with it the number of motorcycle related injuries and fatalities. Based on available data sourced from the net (MMDA MMARAS Reports for 2009 and 2011), the number of motorcycle accident fatalities increased by 50% in 2011 vs. 2009 (i.e. 163 vs. 109 deaths); its percentage share of fatalities (compared to total vehicular traffic fatalities) also increased to 32.4% in 2011, from 29.5% in 2009, and has even been surpassing car accident fatalities by as much as 36% in 2009 and 79% in 2011.

Now, since most of those who take to using the motorcycle belong to that sector of our society that struggles to make both ends meet, I wondered about efforts being done by the various entities (i.e. the government agencies, motorcycle manufacturers and traders, user groups, etc.) to make motorcycle usage safer so that those who invested in these machines would have a stronger chance of gaining the expected benefits, instead of being burdened by the consequences of an accident.

So, since the focus of my curiosity is more on the safety of motorcycle use, and the mitigation of injuries and fatalities due to accidents, I searched for general information regarding motorcycles and their usage, as well as history and details of accidents involving this machine.

My simple web research on the matter seems to point to the Metro Manila Development Administration as the government agency that somehow sustained the effort initiated almost 2-1/2 years ago to address the rising problem of motorcycle-related accidents and fatalities. There were also complementary efforts by both the DPWH (with their TARAS) and DOH (with their ONEIS). Two relatively recent studies related to motorcycle accidents came from the private sector, the outputs of which could help in the structuring of future plans for minimizing this problem.  The first one was published in 2011 by personnel of the Department of Industrial Engineering of the De La Salle University in Manila, while the second one was published in 2012 and performed jointly by doctors of the Departments of Orthopedics of the College of Medicine/PGH, UP Manila, and the East Avenue Medical Center, in Quezon City.

The MMDA initiated the organization of the one day Metro Manila Transport and Traffic Management Summit held on December 2010 where the participants committed support for the legislative and administrative proposals made for improving the transport and traffic system of the metropolis. In line with this, a “Metro Manila Traffic and Transport System Declaration of 2010” was drafted, and which was signed by the MMDA Chairman, together with the Secretaries of the Departments of Transportation and Communication, Public Works and Highways, Environment and Natural Resources, and Health. The Chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, the NCRPO Director, as well as the Mayors of Quezon City and Marikina City also participated as witnesses to the signing were (www.mmda. gov.ph/news 2010.html).

The said “MMTTS Declaration 2010” contained, among other things 18 proposals to improve traffic and an action program/time table for 2010-2016 divided into three parts, namely, Immediate Term (Jan 2011-Jun 2011), Short Term (Jan 2011-Dec 2012), and Medium Term (Jan 2011-June 2016). Some of the specific proposals geared to minimize motorcycle related accidents and fatalities are: the enactment of a motorcycle safety attire law which would include requiring the wearing of good quality helmets, implementation of the “no helmet, no travel” policy (covered by the LTO AO AHS-2008-015), the limiting of riders to two persons, as well as the automatic lighting of headlights while on the road for maximum visibility.

As mentioned earlier, MMDA somehow sustained their focus on addressing the motorcycle problem as reflected in their release of the 2011 MMARAS Traffic Accident Report (can’t find the 2012 report), the “60 kph speed limit” imposed for the Commonwealth Avenue and Macapagal Avenue sometime in 2011, as well as the installation of the (non-exclusive) blue lanes for motorcycles in Epifanio De Los Santos, Commonwealth and Macapagal Avenues sometime in 2012.

Due to space limitations, the continuation of this article will be featured as part 3 under the same title in my next column. Meanwhile, comments/reactions will be appreciated and can be sent through this writer’s email (sl3.mekaniko@gmail.com) or through this writer’s blog (http://mekaniko-sl3.blogspot.com).