LTO allows added LED lights on motorbikes but…

In a concession to motorcycle users, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is now allowing additional LED lamps to be installed on the bikes as long as these are placed below the handlebar and not switched on when passing through well-lit streets.

The LTO issued this and other new parameters on the use  of motorcycle lights, after drawing flak over a January 2016 memorandum that reiterated the drive against the unauthorized use of LED (light-emitting diode) and sirens (wang-wang).

“We don’t want blinding lights to the point that you endanger the oncoming vehicles. So we clearly defined what is allowed, where to place it, where to point it and which color,” LTO spokesperson Jason Salvador told the Inquirer on Friday.

According to a March 15 memo signed by LTO chief Roberto Cabrera III, a maximum of two supplementary lamps with up to six bulbs each are allowed. These lights should not be combined or placed side by side as a bar, must have separate switches and securely mounted.

The additional lamps should be white or selective-yellow, directed downwards and never toward the left side, and with deviation of optic axis direction at least 20 centimeters downwards at 10 meters forward.

‘Vague’ memo

LED or HID (high-intensity discharge) lamps will be allowed as long as these parameters are followed.

Cabrera issued a reminder in January to enforce the rules of the Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01 against the use of LED. But vehicle owners took issue with the memo, finding it to be vague. Others also complained about law enforcers citing the memo for harassment or “arbitrary” apprehension.

The riders said they need additional lights since the motorcycle’s headlight is not enough and not all streets are well-illuminated, Salvador said.

LTO officials conducted a series of consultations with motorcycle riders, manufacturers and officials of the Department of Trade and Industry in crafting the guidelines “so that not only the motorcycle riders will be guided but also law enforcement officers,” he added.

Salvador stressed that only LTO law enforcers and deputized agents may enforce this rule. Under the JAO, vehicles with unauthorized accessories will be impounded, the illegal parts confiscated and the violator fined P5,000.