Safety lessons for motorcycle taxi riders
House Speaker Martin Romualdez yesterday told the House of Representatives to prioritize measures that will help mitigate the burden of commuters in public transportation, like the proposal to utilize motorcycle taxis.
“This legislative move is in direct response to President Marcos’ advocacy for increased transportation options for the Filipino people, as demonstrated by his support for the legalization of motorcycle taxis and the easing of TNVS (Transportation Network Vehicle Service) regulations,” Romualdez was reported as saying in a report in Philstar.com.
We laud this development. We have always held the view that motorcycles should be allowed to be used as public transport. There will always be places that cannot be serviced by the regular vehicles and there will always be people who cannot get rides where and when they need them the most.
Even before urban areas started adopting the practice of habal-habal, these were already common in many rural areas and places where they became practical. Necessity is the mother of invention after all.
However, this goes without saying that once all legal impediments to motorcycle taxis are gone then motorcycle riders who will be ferrying passengers must be made to undergo safety training. The ability to drive a motorcycle and get from Point A to Point B isn’t enough; they should know how to obey traffic rules as well as to keep themselves and their passenger safe on the road.
We see this almost every day; motorcycle riders getting into accidents mostly as a result of their own recklessness. The motorcycle’s small size, which allows it to weave through the gridlock of heavier vehicles, is an advantage. However, it is also something that causes accidents.
A motorcycle driver recently died because he got into the blind spot of a truck, thinking he could be seen by the truck driver. Well, he wasn’t and was run over and crushed.
Motorcycle riders should have a change of attitude and an upgrade of skills before they start taking on passengers. After all, it will be more than just their own lives at stake once someone gets in their backseat.