AT least 503 violators were arrested by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) during the first day of the implementation of the motorcycle lane rule on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City.
“As of noon, we have flagged down 287 violators on Commonwealth Avenue and 216 on Macapagal Boulevard but we did not issue traffic violation tickets. The violators were made to attend a 15-minute safety seminar, after which, stickers were placed on their motorcycles indicating they had attended such a seminar,” Yvez Gonzalez, MMDA Traffic Discipline Office acting chief, said.
Among those accosted, Gonzalez said, were employees of the Department of Public Works and Highways MMDA, policemen and several soldiers.
He said more than 100 were held in the first three hours of the implementation of the scheme.
The MMDA started on Monday a one-week dry run of the scheme, after which it will fully implement the policy starting on October 24 with violators meted out a P500 fine.
During the weeklong dry run, violators will only made to undergo a 15-minute safety seminar (use of motorcycle lanes and other safety measures such as wearing protective head gear, shoes and keeping the headlights on) by personnel from the agency’s Education Division and the Motorcycle Philippines Federation (MPF), which is supporting the MMDA project.
The MMDA has designated the fourth lane of Commonwealth Avenue and the first lane from the sidewalk on Macapagal Boulevard in Pasay City as motorcycle lanes.
The agency deployed 69 personnel to monitor the entire stretch of Commonwealth Avenue, augmented by 50 volunteers from the MPF who were also present to give assistance to motorcyclists.
For his part, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said he is optimistic that motorcycle riders will heed the new policy even as he added that they will be doing minor adjustments due to the complaints of those who were accosted that the marking on the designated lane was hardly visible.
“So far, smooth naman ang implementasyon may kaunti lang reklamo halimbawa sabi nila hindi sila aware tungkol dito pero sa haba ng information campaign natin, I think alam nila iyon at nagpapalusot lang,” Tolentino said, adding that minor kinks in the policy are expected since this was the first day of its implementation.
