Full-face motorcyle helmets banned
BACOLOD CITY: The San Carlos City government in Negros Occidental has banned the use of full-face helmets for motorcycle riders within the city proper, said an executive order (EO) issued by Mayor Renato Gustilo on Feb. 28, 2024.
Under EO 86, the wearing of motorcycle helmets with full-face visor is prohibited inside the city and the driving speed for motorists within the city proper shall be up to 40 kilometers per hour.
“The wearing of a half-face protective motorcycle helmet is still prescribed,” Gustilo said.
The mayor also mandated the putting up of checkpoints at designated areas in the city.
“All motorcycle drivers and backriders must take off their helmets, bonnets, or masks,” he said.
Gustilo said he observed that most of the crimes committed in San Carlos City are perpetrated by persons wearing a motorcycle helmet with a heavily tinted face shield to hide their identity.
On Tuesday, a suspected grenade thrower, who was wearing a motorcycle helmet, was arrested by the police while fleeing from the crime scene in Barangay Rizal, San Carlos City.
The grenade explosion resulted in the injury of three persons and damaged two vehicles.
The suspect, a job order employee of the Department of Public Works and Highways 1st Engineering District satellite office, was riding his motorcycle when he hurled a grenade at the“Kapehan sa Medina”along the Eco-Tourism Highway at Sitio Medina, Barangay Rizal, San Carlos City, on Tuesday, February 27, the police reported.
LtCol. Nazer Canja, San Carlos police chief, said the suspect was identified by an eyewitness present at the scene of the crime and was arrested at his residence at Barangay Punao on the same day.
He was booked for three counts of frustrated murder and one for attempted murder.
Gustilo, meanwhile, said that by limiting the speed limit to 40 kilometers per hour in some areas in San Carlos City, chances of motorcycle crashes and accidents are reduced.
Without helmets, the mayor said, criminals on motorcycles can be easily identified.