STRICT IMPLEMENTATION. Kidapawan Mayor Jose Paolo Evangelista (back to camera) meets with Land Transportation Office personnel on Thursday (Jan. 19, 2023) following the intensified implementation of the 'No Helmet, No Travel' policy for motorcycle riders in the city since Jan. 16, 202). Inset photo shows Land Transportation Office personnel checking on a motorcycle rider in the city traveling sans safety helmet. (Photo courtesy of Kidapawan CIO and John Andrew Tabugoc)
KIDAPAWAN CITY – Personnel of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and local traffic enforcers apprehended 484 motorcycle drivers and impounded 141 motorbikes in the past four days of intensified operations here.
The move came after the full implementation of the "No Helmet, No Ride Policy" stated under the Republic Act 10054, or the Motorcycle Act of 2009.
Moises Sernal, head of the newly organized City Traffic Management Enforcement Unit (CTMEU), said they managed to flag down 1,285 motorcycles during the Jan. 16–19 series of traffic enforcement operations together with personnel from the Philippine National Police Highway Patrol Group and the Land Transportation Office-Region 12 (Soccsksargen).
“At least 484 were penalized because of traveling without wearing helmets including their back riders,” Sernal said.
At least 141 motorcycles were also impounded due to violations that included expired registrations and driving without a license, he added.
LTO-12 Regional Director Macario Gonzaga, who supervised the four-day operations, met with Mayor Jose Paolo Evangelista on Thursday to discuss further collaboration for the enforcement of appropriate traffic laws in the city.
Evangelista reminded the LTO-12 team “to exercise fairness in conducting the apprehension of violators.”
He said the LTO-12 leadership wanted to make the city a model for the strict implementation of the “no helmet, no travel policy” in the region.
In December last year, the city government distributed some 500 standard helmets to motorcycle drivers here.
Evangelista said he ordered strict compliance with the “no helmet, no travel” policy following an increase in motorcycle accidents in the city recently that claimed several lives.
“We have no other intention here but to save the lives of motorcycle riders for their families”, he said. (PNA)
