Many Filipinos are
now enticed to buy or ride a motorcycle for cheaper and faster transportation
due to severe traffic condition in the Philippines.
Aside from the
traffic issue, one huge problem that we are facing is the increasing loss of
lives due to road accidents. Based on the road safety report of the World Health
Organization for 2015, 53% of the road fatalities in the Philippines are riders of two
or three- wheeled vehicles. [1]
This is an alarming
situation and should call the police power of the government. The government
should implement more stringent rules to regulate the use of motorcycle as a
mode of transportation. Regulation of motorcycle use is not a government's act to prevent the owners from freely enjoying the use of their property. The right to enjoy the use of a property is not absolute. It can be regulated by the government upon public necessity.
I can still see a lot
of motorcycle drivers who do not wear a quality helmet or none at all. Others
wear helmet but do not fasten it properly. One more problem is the driving
technique. A lot of motorcycle drivers seem to be reckless. They are physically
smaller than other vehicles so they feel like it is fine to cut into small
spaces of the road or between larger vehicles. I personally experienced motorcycles bumping the
side mirror, the door or the trunk of the car. The practices of motorcycle
drivers may actually lessen their travel time but their lives are always in danger when on the road.
The best way to
significantly reduce the number of accidents involving motorcycles is for the
government to have a long term plan in improving other modes of transportation.
If we have improved train or other four-wheeled vehicle system, people will no
longer resort to ride a motorcycle.
[1] Road deaths in
PH: Most are motorcycle riders, pedestrians
www.rappler.com/nation/110789-road-safety-report-2015-who-philippines
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