Where in the world can you find a bus driver who has committed more than 500 traffic violations but is still driving?
This was one of the concerns raised by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority in seeking help from the Land Transportation Office to go against bus drivers who have committed hundreds of traffic violations since 2006.
The MMDA said it will soon collect the records of traffic violators among private motorists and jeepney drivers as part of a crackdown against repeat and excessive traffic violators.
This came after the MMDA announced on Tuesday its goal to suspend 100 to 1,000 bus drivers after a probe found that more than 1,700 of those drivers had committed a minimum of 100 traffic violations since 2006.
MMDA general manager Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said the agency had accounted for more than 1,700 bus drivers based on its database.
“I was alarmed by these erring PUB drivers, so I immediately coordinated with the LTO. We will strictly enforce Republic Act 4136 against errant drivers,” he said.
Garcia said that, based on MMDA records, one bus driver alone has committed 533 violations since the time of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Among the violations committed by the unnamed driver were obstruction, disregarding traffic signs, loading and unloading in the yellow lane and having his door open.
Under RA 4136, also known as the Land Transportation and Traffic Code of the Philippines, a driver who commits at least three times of the same violations during a 12-month period may face automatic suspension of his/her driver’s license for at least one to two years.
“Our aim is to instill discipline among the bus drivers. Also, this is for the safety of passengers,” Garcia said.
Garcia also warned bus operators against hiring bus drivers with many traffic violations.
“Please exercise extraordinary diligence in hiring a bus driver or else we will impound your vehicle, he said.
LTO Law Enforcement Service Deputy Director Roberto Valera assured the public that they will act as soon as possible and due process will be observed.
Police Lt. Col. Emmanuel Tabuena, Chief of the PNP-Highway Patrol Group Traffic Enforcement Unit, said they will apprehend the suspended bus drivers once the list comes out. With PNA