House OKs bigger motorcycle plates

The House of Representatives has approved on second reading a bill prescribing bigger license plates for motorcycles and tricycles to discourage the use of these vehicles in crimes.

The chamber passed a related measure requiring owners of motorcycles to turn the headlights on at all hours of the day and night while in use.

Bill 8419 defines a motorcycle as any “motor-driven two-wheeled vehicle, including scooters, mopeds and motorcycles with appendages such as sidecars, tricycles or trikes.”

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) was authorized to design a bigger license plate “with alphanumeric characters in large and readable font from a distance of 12 meters from the motorcycle.”

The plate would be displayed at the back of a motorcycle.

The LTO would devise a plate for every region for quick and easy identification.

Under the bill, no two-wheeled vehicle would be registered without a bigger license plate.

Owners who sell two-wheeled vehicles would be required to report to the LTO such sale and other details.

The bill prescribes a range of penalties, including fines and imprisonment for violations.

Under Bill 8322, operating a motorcycle without its headlights on would be prohibited.

Manufacturers would be required to install a mechanism for the automatic switch-on of headlights once the engine is started. No motorcycle would be registered unless equipped with such a system.

The LTO would be mandated to issue implementing rules and regulations for bigger motorcycle plates and switch-on of headlights.