It was just recently that a motorcycle rider went viral on social media after being caught in Angeles City, Pampanga for a helmet violation. The furious rider, wearing a bicycle helmet, even tried to pass the blame to his pillion that wasn't wearing one.
It turns out there were a lot guilty of it that day. On that very same day, 53 motorcycle riders were also flagged down by the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (I-ACT) for wearing substandard motorcycle helmets. More specifically, they were caught for wearing nutshell helmets intended for bicycle use.
“Most of the motorists who have been halted during this operation have been caught using substandard helmets, or ‘nutshell helmets’,” said one of the I-ACT operatives during the operation along Cayetano Avenue, Barangay Ususan in Taguig City.
Under the Republic Act 10054 or the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009, the penalty for not wearing a standard motorcycle helmet is PhP1,500.00 for the first offense, PhP3,000.00 for the second offense, PhP5,000.00 for the third offense, and finally, a whopping PhP10,000.00 plus confiscation of the driver’s license for the fourth and succeeding offenses.
Rather than spending your hard earned cash paying the hefty penalty, we recommend simply buying a decent, compliant motorcycle helmet and avoid apprehension. They practically cost the same amount.
