San Juan tricycles required to light up passenger cabs

MANILA, Philippines — Tricycle drivers in San Juan City could be fined as much as P1,000 and even risk going to jail, if they fail to put on their headlights and illuminate the insides of their tricycle at night.

This, as the San Juan City Council approved Ordinance 52, series of 2013, making it mandatory for tricycle drivers to install and switch on lights for the passenger cab of their tricycles at night.

The ordinance, which was approved by the council on Aug. 27, 2013 and signed by San Juan Mayor Guia Gomez on Sept. 2, compels tricycle drivers to “open their headlights and lights inside their vehicles while transporting commuters at night.”

“It is the common practice of drivers of tricycles to close their lights inside their vehicles while transporting commuters at night,” the ordinance’s explanatory note read.

“This malpractice encourages thieves to do their ‘trade,’ thus endangering the lives of the commuters. This practice also adds to accidents since drivers have difficulty sighting vehicles running in their direction,” it added.

Aside from requiring headlights and lights inside the tricycles, the ordinance also compels all tricycle drivers to install trash cans inside their vehicles “to accommodate all trash thrown by passengers while traveling.”

The ordinance became effective after publication in a newspaper last year.

Drivers found to violate the ordinance would be fined with P500 if they are caught for the first time. They would be fined P1,000 if caught violating for the second time, while they could face a fine and could also go to jail if caught violating for the third time.

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