Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte has approved Ordinance No. SP-2942 requiring bikers to wear a helmet while traversing roads in the city as a fundamental safety gear, helmets are now required to be worn by bicycle riders while traversing any city roads.
“Now that biking is a part of the new normal, we want to ensure that this activity would be safe for those passing through our city,” she said.
“The use of a helmet would assure that the riders could reach their destination safely,” she added.
Councilors Maria Diorella Sotto, Kaye Galang-Coseteng and Candy Medina introduced the measure.
According to Belmonte, while the wearing of a helmet when biking was already mandatory under the Road Safety Ordinance, the city council saw the need for another policy to further encourage the helmets as a protection with more people now traveling by bicycles.
The ordinance is imposing fines of P1,000, P3,000 and P5,000 for the first, second and third offense, respectively.
The city mayor earlier initiated the implementation of a bike lane project, a short-term initiative designed to provide a safe place for people who have shifted to biking as an alternative means of transportation amid the lockdown due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.
As part of her long-term program, she said the city government plans to put up permanent bike lanes to be integrated with the planned bus system routes and pedestrian network.
During her time as vice mayor and presiding officer of the city council, Belmonte pushed for the approval of SP-2636 or the Road Safety Code of Quezon City in 2017 to ensure the safety of all road users, including bicycle riders.