QC council OKs ordinance imposing 20-kph speed limit in subdivisions

Motorists in Quezon City who feel the need for speed may soon have to slow down whenever they are inside a subdivision following the passage of an ordinance setting the speed limit at 20 kilometers per hour in these areas.

The “Subdivision Speed Limit Ordinance of Quezon City” approved by the council last week will take effect 15 days after Mayor Herbert Bautista signs it into law.

The ordinance penalizes violators with community service and fines ranging from P1,000 to P5,000. Motorists who cause damage to property due to speeding also face the possible revocation of their driver’s licenses on top of criminal charges.

In enacting the ordinance, the councilors cited the urgency of strictly enforcing maximum speed limits on roads inside the city’s subdivisions “to prevent loss of life and damage to property due to reckless driving.”

They cited provisions of Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code and the local Traffic Management Code in setting the speed limit on the thoroughfares at 20-kph or the normal speed of a bicycle.

While the Land Transportation and Traffic Code restricts the speed at 20-kph on crowded streets, the approach to intersections, blind corners, school zones and when passing stationary or parked vehicles, the Traffic Management Code of Quezon City provides only that “no person shall drive a vehicle at a speed exceeding the designed limits for the street as indicated by numerals on signs set up along the road.”

The council said the strict enforcement of the measure would ensure the residents’ safety and avert accidents.

According to the enacted measure, “no person shall drive at a speed exceeding the limit imposed by this ordinance which is hereby set at 20 kilometers per hour on crowded streets, approaching intersections at “blind corners” and when passing by churches and school zones in all subdivisions in Quezon City.”

The speed limit, however, will not apply to emergency vehicles such as ambulances and fire trucks.

Violation of the ordinance will mean a day of community service and a P1,000 fine for the erring driver while a second offense would merit two days of community service and a P2,000 fine. For subsequent offenses, a motorist will be slapped with weeklong community service and a P5,000 fine.

A violation resulting in damage to property worth over P10,000 or death would merit the driver a week of community service and a P5,000 fine as well as an endorsement to the Land Transportation Office for the suspension or cancellation of his driving license on top of criminal charges.