NEWS: Motorcycles: Transportation means or menace?

[ghosthunter]

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=72

[SIZE="4"]Motorcycles: Transportation means or menace?[/SIZE]
BACKSEAT DRIVER By Kap Aguila (The Philippine Star)
Updated October 27, 2010 12:00 AM

You’ve heard it before, of course: the surprisingly common, albeit creepy, saying that whenever you ride a motorcycle in the Philippines, you wittingly or unwittingly put one foot in the grave.

The sentiment is enough to raise the hackles of dyed-in-the-wool bikers who swear to the superiority, safety, and joy of two wheels over four. On the other hand, many of you are probably nodding in assent.

Let’s face it: Any motorist stuck on EDSA during rush hour probably has something to say (or a middle finger to extend) to quite a number of those motorcycle riders who, well, misrepresent. These inconsiderate bikers nonchalantly weave in and out of traffic – expecting YOU to stay out of their way even as they cut through lanes within centimeters of dinging your car door or breaking your side mirror.

Former STAR motoring scribe Lester Dizon, a motorcycle enthusiast, championed the cause of bikers here in this very column years ago as he tried to debunk myths leveled against the mode of oft-controversial form of transport. Lester asserted that the following are MYTHS.

Motorcycles are a minority.

Motorcycles are inherently dangerous.

Motorcycles are polluters.

Motorcycles are (a form of) impractical transportation.

He declared after citing data: “motorcycles are proven to be safer, and they reduce travel time, can help reduce the national fuel consumption, spew fewer emissions and are infrastructure efficient. Bikes also allow a lower entry level for low- to middle-income blue-collar workers to acquire their own means of transportation, and the motorcycle may be the untapped development program that can move our nation forward.”

Curiously, Dizon also mentioned the very same adage I talked about at the beginning of this column.

Just like legislators high on a fresh new mandate, it’s easy to become emotional regardless of which side of the debate you’re on – especially in these times we read and watch so many items on the news about motorcycles and the accidents they – along with their occupants – get into. We can filibuster until we’re red in the face, but the truth is always, invariably more compelling than bombast or emotion.

Anyway, back to Lester’s points. I actually have no arguments with items 1, 3, and 4. But to disagree with number 2, I also need to say why.

Personally, as far as bikers go, I’ve seen the incredible and downright stupid in my decades of driving on four wheels. Let’s not even talk about the riders and their passengers not wearing their helmets properly or otherwise – if at all.

I’ve seen bikers texting (really!) while riding (and drifting). I’ve seen poor hapless kids and infants squeezed between adults as they negotiated a major road (must we expose them to such dangers?). I’ve seen motorcycle riders who have no idea where they should be – thinking the right way to ride is to straddle between lanes – effectively rendering both lanes useless and impassable. I’ve seen big bikes accelerating and speeding recklessly as their riders squeeze every horsepower from the machines. I’ve seen a rider nodding off on EDSA as his bike swerved every which way. I’ve also seen motorcycles skidding on rain-soaked pavement, throwing their riders to the ground with a sickening crash. I’ve seen bloodied, broken bodies of shocked riders. Why, I’ve even experienced a near miss with a biker who cut into my lane just as I was executing a turn. The genius fell with his bike, and kept blaming me for the incident. I made sure he was okay, and then got into my vehicle, leaving him to contemplate his recklessness.

To be fair, not all motorcycle riders are like this. There are perfectly conscientious and responsible bikers, but you get a sinking feeling that many are headed this way -- particularly new riders who are enamored with the fact that the vehicle lets someone squeeze his way through traffic. Yes, motorcycles save on time and money, but these should never compromise safety both of the rider and the public at large.

But again, if we’re talking safety, my arguments and opinions may count for crap -- merely blather without the backbone of empirical data. So I got some very telling numbers from the former spokesperson of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Atty. Yves Gonzalez. Following are statistics prepared by the MMDA Traffic Operations Center Road Safety Unit.

In the first table below, we see the year-by-year summary of motorcycle-related traffic accidents beginning in 2005.

Year.....Killed.....Injured.....Damage.....Total
2005.....98........4,466.......4,334........8,896
2006.....118.......4,986......4,638.........9,742
2007.....110.......5,484......5,514........11,108
2008.....104.......6,288......6,264........12,656
2009......105......6,327......7,129........13,561
Total......535.....27,551....27,879........55,965

What do the numbers tell us? Anyone can see the incidence of accidents involving motorcycles is on the rise. Let’s look at another, perhaps more telling, table that should be more obvious. These are the accident rates per day from 2005 to 2009.

Year......Killed......Injured......Damage.......To tal per day
2005......0.27.......12.23........11.87..........2 4.37
2006......0.32........13.66.......12.71..........2 6.69
2007......0.30........15.02........15.11.........3 0.43
2008......0.28........17.23........17.16.........3 4.65
2009......0.29.........17.33.......19.53.........3 7.15

The trend is obvious and unequivocal. Accidents have been consistently and steadily on the rise.

Want more? Well, this next table details 2010 incidents from January to March alone. Yes, three months of this year.

Person involved......Killed......Injured......Total
Driver ..................30..........1,554........1,575
Passenger .............8............492...........500
Pedestrian.............11...........571........... 582
Total....................49..........2,608........ 2,657

(Note from report: “It doesn’t mean that the driver and passenger that have been killed or injured stated here in this report are the drivers and the passengers of the motorcycle only, but could also be the driver and passengers of the other vehicles… the motorcycle (collided with).”

Earlier this month, the STAR’s Mayen Jaymalin reported that, according to the Department of Health: “At least 18 percent of motorcycle accident victims are killed, many before reaching a hospital.”

The news item continued that from April to June alone, the DOH (through its government hospitals) recorded 2,015 vehicular accident-related injuries.

“Almost all or 99.4 percent of those injured secondary to vehicular accidents reached the hospital alive, while 18.8 of fatalities of those declared dead on arrival were motorcycle occupants,” Jaymalin wrote. “The most commonly sustained types of injuries were open wound or laceration (39.3 percent), abrasion (29 percent), and contusion (13.9 percent).” These pretty graphic numbers paint a disturbing picture.

(continued)

[ghosthunter]

(continued from above)

Most notably, Health Secretary Enrique Ona, Jaymalin continued, said that based on the agency’s National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, “motorcycles still remain as the most common mode of transport of those injured and that only 11.5 percent of those injured motorcycle occupants were using helmets at the time of accident.”

There it is. The numbers do not lie. And don’t you find it outrageous that one of 10 riders STILL does not wear a helmet?

Notwithstanding, the motorcycling public is expected to grow. STAR columnist Rey Gamboa (Bizlinks) opined weeks ago that the motorcycle industry “(promises) double-digit growth in the next couple of years… Filipinos are just starting to appreciate the convenience of having a motorcycle. It’s great for navigating most of the city’s traffic-stricken highways or even the long dusty rural roads, making travel so much easier and faster.”

With the expected fare hikes and continuing high price of gasoline, taking the public transport system or even using a car is so much more expensive than jumping on a two-wheeled motor vehicle. Yes, to most working class Filipinos, a motorcycle is one way to save on rising transport costs.”

What then to do (and think) about motorcycles and, more importantly, their riders?

At the end of the day, motorcycles clearly fill a need. It would be ignorant and irresponsible to call them evil devices that bring death and injury. After all, motorcycles don’t cause accidents, people do. Just as an inebriated driver (or even reckless one) on the safest of sedans still poses a big menace, a biker who doesn’t respect the rules of the road is also asking for trouble.

So what’s the alternative then? Inexpensive and unsafe needn’t go hand in hand.

“The root cause of the carnage we see on our roads right now is the lack of efficient public transportation. The only reason why people use motorcycles is they are fed up with traffic and they have no other alternative. If we have an efficient public transport system, half of those who ride motorcycles will eventually ride the trains or the buses,” echoed veteran motoring scribe Junep Ocampo.

A photographer friend of mine used to ride his scooter all the way from his Velenzuela abode to wherever his assignments took him in the metropolis.

One day, he just plain stopped using his two-wheeled wonder. “It has become dangerous,” he said. I asked him to elaborate. “A lot of motorcycle riders think it’s a race. They want to get ahead of other motorcycles. If there’s space between cars, they’d want to get ahead. I’m not going to get suckered into that, but there’s pressure – and it’s unsafe.”

My friend wouldn’t lie – just as the numbers don’t. So it’s high time people in them motorcycles start being responsible. The price is too steep, the margin of error too little, to be otherwise.

Don’t be a statistic.

[1997]

Hindi or bihira ako nakakakita or nakakabalita na Bumbay(Pardon me) na naaksidente sa pag momotor... Kayo may nabalitaan na ba kayo? Before the Honda c70 is associated with them... Tama ba ako?

[bwiseat]

Hindi or bihira ako nakakakita or nakakabalita na Bumbay(Pardon me) na naaksidente sa pag momotor... Kayo may nabalitaan na ba kayo? Before the Honda c70 is associated with them... Tama ba ako?

Haha! Natawa ko dito huh? Parang wala nga.

[speed unlimited]

Tanong kaya natin bakit araw araw o palagi na may aksidente na nakamotor . Sa balita lagi na lang involve ang motorsiklo sa aksidente.

[ghosthunter]

Tanong kaya natin bakit araw araw o palagi na may aksidente na nakamotor . Sa balita lagi na lang involve ang motorsiklo sa aksidente.

simply because there are so many motorbikes and scooters on the road.

[TholitzReloaded]

Haha! Natawa ko dito huh? Parang wala nga.

Oo nga I agree.. Only goes to show how safe the bumbay drivers are.

[shakatak70]

Lack of training and regulations prior to issuing of license to motorcycle riders ang isang problema diyan. Parang yung mga driver ng public transport lang yan (jeepney, bus).

Minsan muntikan ko na nabunggo isang rider dahil liliko siya going right kaso ang position niya ay nasa left side ko at biglang lumitaw na lang sa harapan na parang kabute paliko siya sa kanan. ayun muntikan na akong makadale sabay kakawayan ka lang. Ang masakit niyan di kasalanan ng cage driver ma-aabala at purwesyo pa ang dulot kasi biglang cage driver ikaw ang makakasuhan... Hay naku kailan kaya mababago ang batas na yan (same kung makabunggo ka ng tao na tumawid sa kalsada kahit may overpass naman).

Kaya tingin ko diyan karamihan sa mga nag-momotor di alam ang regulasyon sa lansangan basta maalam mag motor ay pwede na kumuha ng lisensya.

Isa pa weaving through traffic, ok lang na gawin basta may space pero kung wala ay wag na ipilit. Nadale bumper ko dito ang haba ng gasgas at yung naka gasgas na motor deadma ka lang.

Araw-araw nababalita kasi tinututukan din ng media at nagiging sensationalize, dahil na rin yan sa mga barubal na driver ng mga motor, kaya yun ang nasisilip.