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Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. announced his plan of filing a bill that
would prohibit children aged 7 years and below from riding on
motorcycles along national highways.
“Recent incidents have occurred where children
were severely injured while riding on a motorcycle. These children
lack the physical development to pay attention and properly secure
themselves while riding,” Revilla said.
Revilla added exceptions may be made in
provinces where vehicular traffic is light and where motorcycles are
the only means of transportation. Revilla said he is considering
pegging the maximum fine for violators to P10,000.
The lawmaker clarified that the bill is a
separate measure from Senate Bill 1863 that he filed last year to
mandate the wearing of standard-quality helmets for all motorcycle
drivers and passengers.
“This is consistent with our advocacy to
provide safety measures to all riders and passengers and avoid
injury or fatality, especially for children on motorcycles,”
Revilla said.
Senate Bill 1863 requires all motorcycle riders
to wear standard-quality helmets while driving motorcycles
(regardless of engine displacement, including scooters), whether on
long or short drives, at any time and in any type of roads. Exempted
from the bill are tricycle drivers and their passengers.
Revilla cited a study conducted by Safe Kids
Phils., a global nongovernmental organization dedicated to the
prevention of unintentional injuries to children, as a source that
partly prompted him to file the bill. The Safe Kids study revealed
that at least 20 million children are at a risk of dying or getting
injured in road accidents every year. It says 35,000 Filipino
children die or are injured in road accidents each year—or about
263 children a day.
Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO)
expressed concern on deaths and injuries from motorcycle accidents,
which it considers as a public health epidemic in many countries in
Asia, including the Philippines. In its report, the WHO noted people
belonging to low- and medium-income families use motorcycles as a
family vehicle, often to fetch children from school.
Revilla said there are about 3.5 million
motorcycles in the Philippines, comprising 45 percent of all
registered vehicles in the country.
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