THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has forged a partnership with Honda Philippines, Inc. (HPI) to promote road safety awareness and provide technical assistance to trainers in the agency’s Motorcycle Riding Academy.
On Thursday, MMDA chairman Romando Artes and HPI president Sayaka Arai-Hattori signed an agreement at the agency’s head office in Pasig City.
“This collaboration will enhance the agency’s Motorcycle Training Modules. The HPI will likewise conduct an assessment on the competency of MMDA’s instructors to improve their knowledge and skills in mentoring and coaching the participants for Motorcycle Riding Academy,” said Artes.
Arai-Hattori, for her part, said the MOA represents both parties’ commitment to prioritize the safety of all road users.
“This represents a shared duty to make our roads safer and to protect the livelihood of our family. HPI through Honda Safety Driving Center (HSDC), agreed to conduct comprehensive training programs for the MMDA’s traffic enforcers/instructors over a period of time focused on reinforcing safe and responsible road user behavior,” she said.
Meanwhile, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) president and general manager Jose Arnulfo Veloso also expressed his support for the MMDA-HPI partnership. The GSIS has allowed the MMDA to use their vacant property for utilization of the Motorcycle Riding Academy.
“We are aligned with the vision of having a unified country with disciplined drivers. We believe that partnering with MMDA will hopefully reduce and resolve motorcycle-related accidents,” said Veloso.
Under the partnership, the HPI through the HSDC, shall conduct a road safety awareness and continuously conduct the “Train the Trainers Program” to enhance the skills level of MMDA enforcers to become full-time instructors, as well as review the MMDA Motorcycle Training Modules and align them to HSDC’s Motorcycle Training Modules.
The HPI donated an initial 21 motorcycle units for the conduct of practical training of participants in the Motorcycle Riding Academy. It will donate a total of 50 motorcycles.
Further, the MMDA shall develop a road crash data collection system that will integrate basic information from Honda’s accident data survey to be utilized as reference for research and policy-making. The agency will likewise share its road crash data and analysis system or the Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System (MMARAS) database.
Aside from the promotion of road safety, the partnership is also aimed to increase public awareness with respect to the safety hazards of the road with an end goal of contributing to the reduction of the growing number of road crash victims.
Records showed that motorcycles contributed to the highest number of road fatalities at around 38 percent or 224 fatalities. It also showed that motorcycle fatalities were still alarming in 2020 to 2022 with 275 fatalities or an increase of 23 percent from the 2018 data.
“We are hopeful and looking forward to a continued partnership with HPI for the safety and discipline of our motorists and improvement of traffic situation in Metro Manila,” Artes said.
The Academy will provide riders formal training on both theoretical and practical aspects of motorcycle riding as well as basic emergency response training. It is scheduled to open within the third quarter of this year.
The training will be free to all interested applicants and they will be given certificates upon completion of lectures, practical application, and Basic Emergency Response Course.