Manila: Be alert of riders with tinted helmets, cops told

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Manila:http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/290527/be-alert-riders-with-tinted-helmets-cops-told
Be alert of riders with tinted helmets, cops told....

By CHITO A. CHAVEZ December 2010, 2:47pmMANILA, Philippines – A Quezon City councilor asked Thursday the local police to be on alert of motorcycle riders wearing tinted full face crash helmets.
While recognizing the urgency to wear safety devices, Councilor Jimmy Borres of the city’s third district said that the police should trained be extra alert on motorcycle riders wearing full face helmets as lawless elements may use the ploy for their evil deeds.
(Robbery cases during the holiday season are on the rise so we have to be prepared to prevent more occurrences of such cases),’’ Borres noted.
Referred by the police as the “riding in tandem’’ group, Borres said that the robbery/holdup gangs have preyed on the unsuspecting victims particularly the elderly walking in dimly-lighted streets and alleys.
In other cases, lawless elements on board motorcycles with full face shield crash helmets were able to elude arrest by squeezing through traffic living policemen in hot pursuit biting their dust.
To ensure public safety, Borres earlier proposed a measure that requires motorcycle drivers and riders to wear the standard quality safety helmets with luminous stickers indicating the plate number of the vehicle.
The sticker measuring seven inches by four inches should be posted at the rear of the driver’s and rider’s crash helmets that must always be worn while driving the motorcycle even in short distances.
Borres noted that standard quality helmets should comply with the specifications prescribed by the Philippine National Standard United Nations Economic Commission on Europe (PNS-UN ECE) and the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS).
He added that the proposed measure also disallows motorcycle drivers to have more than one back rider as a safety precaution to vehicular accidents.
The third district councilor issued the proposal as statistics show that accidents involving motorcycles have risen in the past six years claiming the lives of victims with no crash helmets.
“There is an urgent need to regulate the proliferation of motorcycle riders driving without the standard crash helmets in as much as we are concerned with unscrupulous motorcycle-riding groups wearing full-faced crash helmets,’’ Borres noted.
Known as the “Motorcycle Helmet Ordinance’’, violators shall be penalized with P3, 000 in fine, confiscation of driver’s license and impounding of the motorcycle unit.
But a member of a motorcycle group denounced Borres’ proposal citing that labeling their crash helmets limit themselves to using one helmet per motorcycle.
“With the hard times I cannot afford to buy another helmet for my two other motorcycles,’’ the motorcycle enthusiast added.