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Manila: The health authorities are blaming a rise in the number of motorcycle accident-related deaths to the growing use of two-wheeled transport and lack of proper riding safety equipment.
At a discussion forum on motorcycle safety in suburban Quezon City, Dr Ethelyn Nieto, undersecretary to the Department of Health, said motorcycles, based on records of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), are the third most registered vehicles in the Philippines next to cars and commercial vehicles.
"With 3.5 million motorcycles on the streets, it is an absolute necessity that motorcycle riders be mandated to observe proper road safety measures such as the use of helmets and observance proper riding behaviour when on the road," she said.
Motorbike accidents have been the leading cause of road fatalities in the country in recent years.
"Based on January to December 2006 records from the Metro Manila Development Authority [MMDA] alone, motorcycle accidents have the highest fatality rate with 122 bikes involved, or 23.60 per cent of the total road accidents," she said. Cars were next on the list, with 113 or 21.86 per cent.
Nieto cited statistics from the police Traffic Management Group which showed that out of the total 14,202 traffic accidents recorded in 2004, 3,010 or 21 per cent involved motorcycles.
The numbers went up in 2005 to 24 per cent or 2,798 out of 11,425 accidents.
"In the first two months of 2006 alone, a total of 485 accidents out of the total 1,364 accidents road mishaps involved motorcycles," she said.
She stressed the need for traffic enforcers to implement the laws on riding safety to keep the riders and the public safe. She also said the increasing number of motorcycle accidents had been proportional to the increasing use of two-wheeled vehicles.
Families happy with rides on two wheels
In the Philippines, specially in provincial areas where the enforcement of road laws are lax, it is not uncommon to find entire families of five, including toddlers, riding a motorcyle.
Aside from mandating the use of helmets, local laws also restrict the number of individuals allowed to ride on a motorcycle to two persons - the rider and the passenger. In view of the increasing crimes, police have required riders to display their licence plate numbers on helmets.
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