Time and again, road safety advocates, including the EDSA boss himself, Col. Edison “Bong” Nebrija, have reminded motorcycle riders never to seek shelter under an overpass or bridge during a downpour.
“To all motorcycle riders on the road caught in this rain, visibility is poor and the road is slippery. Pakiusap lang (please), do not seek shelter underneath flyovers and footbridges,” said Nebrija through his social media account.
Not only that, the visibility is poor and the road is also slippery. Just a lapse of judgement could lead to a vehicle ramming a number of motorcycle riders seeking shelter in these dangerous places. It didn't turn out so well for the riders in this unfortunate incident that happened in Cebu last December. On that day, a vehicle was greeted by parked motorcycles seeking shelter at the tunnel’s blind curve. The vehicle lost control due to the slipper surface and ended up hitting a few riders.
Rider’s responsibility
As motorcycle riders, it is our responsibility to be aware of the traffic rules, as well as to be prepared on the weather.
“Nanawagan tayo sa mga riders, alam naman natin na tag-ulan na. (We are appealing to motorcycle riders, you know it's the rainy season already.) Be ready,” said motorcycle community advocate, Edwin Go.
Go and Nebrija shared that, since we, as motorcycle riders, are exposed to the weather, it should be our responsibility to invest in rain gear so that we don’t have to stop in the middle of the road, under a flyover, when there’s a downpour.
And, since most of us have already been riding for at least a year now, we should already have an idea of signs that point to impending bad weather. Just look up and it's easy to tell if you should suit up with rain gear even before the rain starts.
“I would rather be branded as inconsiderate than compromise the safety of road users. This is an accident waiting to happen. Please do not use footbridges and flyovers as shelters to let the rain pass. Too risky people!” says Nebrija.
