The Quezon City Council and Mayor Herbert Bautista have approved a measure seeking to ensure the safety of every child-back rider on a motorcycle.
The 36-member council passed Ordinance No. SP-2395 banning any motorcycle rider from transporting a child-back rider within any roads in the city “unless allowable under this measure.”
A young passenger must be wearing a standard protective helmet, can rest his or her feet on the footrest of the motorcycle, can hold on and embrace the waist of the motorcycle driver, and must be mentally capable to appreciate the need to hold on to the rider-driver, Bautista said.
The ordinance states that a violator will be slapped with a fine of P1,000 for the first offense, P2,000 for the second offense and P5,000 for the third and succeeding offenses.
The ordinance actually discourages bikers from allowing small children to ride motorcycles, he noted.
A motorcycle ride is a relatively unsafe mode of transportation for the riders, most especially small children,” said Councilor Melencio Castelo Jr., the ordinance’s principal author.
Citing a study done by Safe Kids Philippines, a non-government organization working to prevent child injuries, he said at least 35,000 Filipino children are victims of road mishaps every year, most of which are motorcycle-related accidents.
A small child can hardly reach the motorcycle pegs and has short arms that cannot wrap around the waist of the driver that always result in an unsafe and uncomfortable ride.
“To prevent the occurrence of road accidents involving children, the city must regulate the transporting of children by motorcycle,” Castelo said. Rio Araja