INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — To decrease motorcycle accidents, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced its plan to establish a Motorcycle Riding Academy in Metro Manila to provide training to both beginners and experienced riders on Monday.
According to MMDA acting chairman Don Artes in a statement, the Motorcycle Riding Academy shall provide motorcycle riders with riding and basic emergency response skills.
“The Academy would provide riders with formal training on both theoretical and practical aspects of motorcycle riding,” Artes said.
“Through this Motorcycle Riding Academy, we aim to further promote road safety, particularly to our motorcyclists who are very much at risk of road mishaps. It’s a good opportunity for them to refresh and hone their riding skills and to provide first aid to people who will encounter unexpected road accidents,” he added.
Meanwhile, the MMDA said a technical working group would be created to formulate a “Motorcycle Safety Training Course module” that would give riders proper training and knowledge on different types, characteristics, basic parts, basic control and operation of motorcycles, different driving skills, as well as the different road safety laws and regulations.
The said academy is expected to be operational within the first quarter of 2023, with the location currently proposed at a vacant property of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) along Julia Vargas Avenue corner Meralco Avenue, Pasig City.
The MMDA said a memorandum of agreement would have to be made between the department and GSIS to utilize the said property.
Training will be open to all interested participants for free, and they will then be given certificates upon completion of lectures, practical application, and Basic Emergency Response Course.
This came after the MMDA Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System in 2018 recorded motorcycle riders as amongst the highest road crash fatalities at around 38 percent or 224 fatalities from a total 590.
Meanwhile, fatalities increased from 253 in 2020 to 295 in 2021.
The Philippines also ranked 11th out of 175 countries with the most reported road traffic deaths at 10,012 in the 2018 Global Status Report on Road Safety by the World Health Organization.