Confused over helmets

One real danger about the confusion over guidelines of the Motorcycle Helmet Act is the potential for abetting corruption.

When rules are unclear, rogue law enforcers find more opportunity to ask a a violator:  Do you want a traffic citation (TOP) or  an instant fine?

The second danger is the unfortunate effect of riders getting complacent and waiting for Dec. 31 to think seriously about wearing a crash helmet.

Mixed signals were given when mayors of  Cebu City and Lapu-Lapu city government declared they would not comply with the Aug. 15 implementation date of the national law.

Let’s get it straight. It’s illegal and foolhardy to be driving or riding a motorcycle without a proper crash helmet, period.

This should not be mistaken for the flimsy bicycle head gear that straps under your chin or the silly alternative of a construction hard hat some motorists put on their heads.

Whether or not Republic Act  10054 or the Motorcycle Helmet Act is implemented with consistency starting August,  motorbike riders can be stopped for wearing no helmet at all.

In Cebu City, the ordinance that penalizes the non-wearing of crash helmets is a serious campaign for the City Traffic Operations Management (Citom).  Efforts notwithstanding,  our Siloy is Watching corner doesn’t run out of candid photos of bareheaded motorbike riders in the city, including policemen and traffic enforcers.

Outside city limits, traffic cops in other localities are more lackadaisical about safety helmets.

The confusion comes in because of added requirements to have helmets individually inspected, paying a P101.25 processing fee, and applying for  special stickers of the ICC and Philippine Standard to prove that one’s helmet is truly roadworthy.

The fee isn’t specified in the law itself but it’s a procedure set by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which has to ensure quality control with the Department of Transportation and Communication  (DOTC). The agencies say it should be a full-faced helmet, but that’s not a black-and-white requirement in the law. What exactly is the “standard”?

The Citom board on Monday issued a resolution urging both agencies to defer the Aug. 15 target implementation in the name of sanity.

If  there’s anyone with the gravitas to declare a a transport policy half-baked and a threat to public safety, it’s this body whose traffic enforcers have to deal with irate and ignorant motorbike drivers on the street daily.

A six-month information drive was set in the law but  there  is, according to Citom, a “high level of confusion and concern among the motorcycle-riding community.”

As of today, out of 321,560 motorcycles registered in Region 7, only 7,000 PS and ICC stickers have been released according to Citom. That’s a lot of potential victims of “tong” right there.

Agencies should straighten out exactly what is considered “standard”  head gear, especially with the police and mayors frowning on  the security risk of hoodlums using full-face helmets to hide their identities.