DILG Sec. Año: With or without shield, MC leading in accidents

DILG Sec. Eduardo Año says safety is all in the driver

The Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary, Eduardo Año, said on Friday that, with or without the backrider shield mandated for rider-couples, accidents involving motorcycles are already high. It all depends on the driver.

“Yung regarding naman kasi sa accident-prone, both sides yan eh. Both ways yan (On the topic of [the backride shield] being accident-prone, it works both ways).”

The interior secretary said that motorcycles have already been involved in numerous road mishaps even before the shield had been required. He pointed out that motorcycles are currently the number one (among types of vehicles involved in accidents) according to government data relating to traffic accidents.

“Kahit naman walang shield o walang barrier, katakot-takot [na] yung askidente ng motor. Nasa driver talaga yan (with or without shield or barrier, there are already a lot of accidents involving motorcycles. It all depends on the driver).”

Since the imposition of the new backriding rule last Friday, July 10, 2020, the motorcycle community, as well as motorcycle safety experts have been unanimous in calling the new shields unsafe, and adds an unnecessary monetary burden to Filipinos during the crisis.

MotoPinas.com has also learned from an insider that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) have proposed a much simpler requirement; citing common rider equipment like a full face helmet and balaclava as enough for rider-couples.

The motorcycle rights group, Motorcycle Rights Organization, through chairman, Jobert Bolaños, has urged the government to make the right decision, and “put in place a technically, scientifically, and medically supported design that is safe and effective.”

Currently, the IATF-EID has yet to publish a national-level memo outlining clear guidelines on how the new backriding protocol should be enforced. So far, only Pasig mayor Vico Sotto and Bohol governor Art Yap (who proposed the approved design by the IATF) have opted not to allow backriding in their jurisdictions pending clearer guidelines, to protect their constituents from misinterpretation or confusion of the new backriding rule.