Bikers get helmet break

4:17 am | Sunday, July 29th, 2012

MANILA, Philippines—The implementation of stricter rules on the kind of helmets motorcycle owners are allowed to use has been deferred to give the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) more time to accredit different brands in the market today.

In a statement, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said it directed the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to defer enforcement of the motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009 and its implementing rules and regulations.

The decision to defer was in line with the DTI’s request to give them more time to inspect all the helmets that are coming in the country. DTI wants to ensure that all the helmets bear the Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) seal issued by the Bureau of Products Standard.

DTI requested to give them until the end of the year to complete inspection before the Helmet Law and its IRR is enforced nationwide.

“We want to ensure the orderly implementation of the Helmet Law with the safety of the riding public as our foremost objective,” Transport Secretary Mar Roxas said.

The decision to defer the law’s implementation came after complaints by motorcycle owners, who said they were not given enough time to have their helmets inspected to be able to get ICC marks. The helmet law went into effect at the start of this month.

Starting Aug. 1 until the end of the year, the DOTC likewise directed the LTO to instruct its enforcers to issue reminders to motorcycle drivers of the issue.

In cooperation with other pertinent government and private agencies and organizations, the LTO will conduct aggressive public information and education campaigns on the matter. During the period covered, no punitive measures such as the issuance of citation tickets would be done.

The DOTC said the helmet law would be implemented strictly starting Jan. 1 of next year. Motorcycle drivers caught driving without the protective helmet bearing the ICC seal will be issued citation tickets and penalized as stated in Helmet Act of 2009.

The IRR of the Helmet Law was stipulated in the joint administrative order crafted by the DOTC and DTI, requiring motorcycle drivers and riders to use protective motorcycle helmets with PS and ICC seals.

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Tags: Bikers , Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) , Helmet , helmet law , motorcycles , Motoring

http://profile.yahoo.com/MXR7NVD7HM7J24DWVRMBRSH53Y Em

And how many will die before this law is enforced? Well I guess if you’re stupid enough to ride a motorcycle without a helmet then……
http://profile.yahoo.com/D2VJ2LHTANBBLHMSHPPGMYGOEU Manila

This is just another way for the government to extort money from the scooter and motorcycle community. Trikes and passengers, not required, trikes and jeepneys drivers by LTO no slippers, not enforced. Jeepney and trike registration and insurance, not enforced. Jeepney and trike lights and safety equipment, not enforced. Scooter registrations, licenses, insurance, shoes, helmets, now stickers, all the time stopping all for inspection and extortion of money. Typical for them to add another issue to extort money from our favorite TEG olutlaws…

robrano

In some ways you are right, there is nostrict and considerable implementation of rules because the officials in duty for it are unfit to do it. And what is done, it is not enforced equally. When I go out, nowhere are more vehicles parked than around No Parking signs. You find cars parked at the pavement with plates “City Mayor”. There are motorbikes which are manipulated to higher speed without to adjust brakes to it. They go withtires made for offroad that have little road contact for braking at a hard or cemented road. They have manipulated, emptied and shortened mufflers for to make more noise. They do not even know that a 3-sroke engine then uses much more fuel but gives less power because this system needs a resistance to the outgoing, burned gas to prevent that much fresh gas just goes out to the muffler. But do you think that LTO or even police will stop these violations of traffic rules? Not even since such manipulations make the vehicle not conform to the description on which the brand and model was accredited and licensed. So, of course nobody cares about rules.

robrano

More time, more victims, The helmets used in the Philippines would fail at 90% to security rules of countries like Germany, Switzerland, USA, and other western countries.
Many helmets are not more protecting than a cooking pot and some are more dangerous than no helmet because the material splinters like glass.. However, since in RP motorbikers can drive just with shorts and slippers, anyway there wouuld be damages at the whole body and face,not just the head. Add the lousy pothole roads with anapog surface and the known philippine indicipline and overspeeding, plus the lacking insurances, this kind of traffic could be seen like one way to fight overpopulation.
Lastly, a really good and protrcting helmet can not just cost 300 pesos, it is rather 300 Dollar or Euro.
MikeCrisologo

just dont buy made in china helmets . its the quality of the helmet that counts.

robrano

But do not think “Made in RP” is better. No local producer and not the department has any facility to make real crash tests like compulsory in most western industrialized countries for accredition. And additional they request leather (or strong leatherlike plastic) cloths (long pants, jacket), boots, gloves, so that no part of the body or face is open to wounds when sliding at the soil or road. This because the accident insurance would reduce payments for “self inflicted damage”. Even cars have strict rules and usually you can not get a plate without first to show the insurance contract. As I know as example the Swiss rules, aside from the basic insurance there is a passenger insurance at one million Swiss Francs or about 43 million pesos.

MikeCrisologo

you dont have to lescture me ,i own a 1200 cc kawasaki and im living in a hi-tech country .i`m talking about quality helmets and i dont trust china products.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_BV5XUIS2NB44OMRVV42QVN4GVI Johnlove

Can’t the public be given the option to buy motorcycle helmets with PS and ICC seals in motorcycle shops?

Bikers get helmet break

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