ROAD accidents involving motorcycles are rampant, any motorist using roads in Metro Manila will tell you this. It is not just an off-the-cuff conjecture because recent statistics bear this out as fact.
In 2021, a total of 22,964 motorcycle accidents occurred, which is about 24 percent of all road accidents in the National Capital Region. Crashes involving motorcycles and other vehicles account for 56 percent of all motorcycle-related deaths. In the majority of these cases, the car strikes the motorcycle from the front.
Also, there were 14,870 persons injured in motorcycle-related crashes nationwide in 2021, for an average of 41 individuals per day. A total of 264 of these were fatal.
MMDA’s Metro Manila Accident Reporting and Analysis System data showed that 1,686, or five cases per day of motorcycle-related road crashes, happened along Commonwealth Avenue in 2022. Of that figure, 13 cases resulted in fatal injuries, 930 in non-fatal injuries, and 743 in damage to property.
Pursuing its mandate and to prevent more deaths and losses, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is holding a dry run for the use of the motorcycle lane in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City from March 9 to March 12, 2023.
‘This disciplinary initiative should be extended by MMDA to other busy streets in the National Capital Region, where motorcycle users weave through traffic as if they own the road, flirting with death and destruction and spreading misfortune to other road users.’
The third lane from the sidewalk of Commonwealth Avenue will be designated as motorcycle lane, from Elliptical Road to Doña Carmen and vice versa.
“The dry run is meant to familiarize motorcycle riders traversing Commonwealth Avenue, on the said policy,” MMDA Acting Chairman Romando “Don” Artes. He stressed that there will be no apprehension during the exercise, which is aimed at informing motorists about the new policy. The establishment of a motorcycle lane aims to reduce the number of accidents and improve traffic flow on Commonwealth Avenue.
Under MMDA Resolution 22-15, the right outermost lane of Commonwealth Avenue shall be designated as an exclusive bicycle lane. The second lane and third lane of the same avenue will be designated as exclusive public utility vehicles lanes or for jeeps, UV Express, buses, and motorcycle lanes, respectively. The remaining lanes of Commonwealth Avenue shall be utilized by all other motor vehicles.
The MMDA chief said they will fully enforce the exclusive motorcycle lanes on Commonwealth Avenue after the dry run. Violators will then be fined P500.
We note that motorcyclists are being taught how to respect traffic rules with the new traffic rules along Commonwealth Ave., a very important thoroughfare connecting congested Fairview and other areas in the North with Manila and southern Metro Manila.
This disciplinary initiative should be extended by MMDA to other busy streets in the National Capital Region, where motorcycle users weave through traffic as if they own the road, flirting with death and destruction and spreading misfortune to other road users.
