San Juan bans trikes without lights, trash cans

THE SAN JUAN City government has reminded tricycle drivers that they could be fined as much as P1,000 and may even end up behind bars if they fail to install a light for their passengers’ convenience inside their vehicle at night.

Earlier, the city council approved Ordinance 52, Series of 2013, making it mandatory for tricycle drivers to install and switch on lights in the passenger cabs of their tricycles.

The ordinance, which was approved by the council on Aug. 27 and signed by Mayor Guia Gomez on Sept. 2, compels tricycle drivers to “open their headlights and lights inside their vehicles while transporting commuters at night.”

“It is the common practice of drivers of tricycles to [turn off] their lights inside their vehicles while transporting commuters at night,” the ordinance’s explanatory note read.

“This malpractice encourages thieves to [carry out] their trade, thus endangering the lives of the commuters. This practice also adds to accidents since drivers have difficulty sighting vehicles [headed] toward their direction,” it added.

Aside from requiring headlights and lights inside the tricycles, the ordinance also requires all tricycle drivers to install garbage bins inside their vehicles “to accommodate all trash thrown by passengers while traveling.”

The ordinance took effect after its publication in a newspaper last year.

Drivers found in violation of the ordinance would be fined P500 should they be caught the first time.

Second-time violators, on the other hand, would be fined P1,000, while they could face a fine on top of the threat of spending time in jail for the third offense.