Motorcycle safety

27 June 2013

My bumping of a motorcycle at the rear, not too long ago, due to confusing stoplights at the oblique merger of two streets made me appreciate in a deeper sense the dangers that users contend with, and how unprotected they are, even if I was already well aware at that time of how risky most of them drive, and have observed in the past their reckless maneuvers like racing and sudden weaving in and out of lanes, and darting through tight gaps between moving vehicles.

Approaching the said oblique merger, and having glanced at the wrong stoplight (which was green), it was too late when I realized that a motorcycle was in full stop in front of me and hit it. I am just thankful that I was still able to step hard on my brakes that did somehow soften the impact. But still the driver was thrown from his vehicle into the road pavement. Again I’m thankful that he was wearing a full helmet which he strapped (which according to him he doesn’t usually do).

With the help of two traffic officers and some of the injured driver’s workers (who happen to be in their delivery truck in the area and who immediately came to his aid), we were able to bring him to a nearby hospital for treatment. And within a span of about 3-1/2 hours in the hospital’s emergency room and in the x-ray room where he was subjected to 6 shots, the attending doctors must have declared that there was no serious injury to his bones, so in spite of him being still in pain in some parts of his body (right knee and upper part of his chest near his shoulder), he was allowed to go home.

As regards our settlement, the injured motorcycle driver (incidentally also an engineer and who by this time was already accompanied by his mother, who turned out to be a very gracious retired teacher, his father who I understand was formerly a vice-mayor of a major city in Laguna, and a daughter) was good enough to accept my apology and agree to my just paying for the hospital expenses and the repair of his motorcycle. And I’m thankful that the engineer’s injuries were not more serious that it turned out, and that they are not the kind who unreasonably takes advantage of such a situation, unlike some of the stories that I’ve heard from some acquaintances.

As mentioned earlier, the experience made me realize how unprotected the motorcycle drivers are. And since those who resort to investing in and using this vehicle as a means of cutting down on transportation expenses belong mostly to the bulk of our population who are struggling to make both ends meet, I wondered what moves are being made by various entities (e.g. government, motorcycle manufacturers and traders, user groups, etc.) to make the use of the vehicle safer and worthwhile for them.

The first move that I thought of doing is to gather more information about the status of motorcycles and their use in the country, as well as history and details of accidents, since my focus is safety and the mitigation of injury and fatalities. To my disappointment however I could not get the updated information (I initially felt I needed) directly from the website of government agencies that I felt I could get the info from. There are however bits and pieces that can be picked up from news reports and certain studies conducted by government hospitals, schools, and even bloggers who somehow also found interest in doing something to help promote safety for motorcycle users.

So far, what can be established is that as of 2010, there are about 3.48 million motorcycles and tricycles registered in the country. This figure was 3.2 million in 2009 and 2.98 million in 2008, which indicates a growth rate of 7.38% and 8.75% for these vehicles in 2009 and 2010 correspondingly. By assuming just a conservative 8% p.a. growth in 2011 and 2012, my projected population of the said motor vehicles should be no less than 4.06 million by the start of 2013. This growing presence of these vehicles on our roads could further elevate the frequency of motorcycle related accidents and fatalities if no drastic effort is made to enhance its safe use.

Due to space limitations, the continuation of this article will be featured as part 2 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).