The vest may not be the best, but..

There is a proposed measure to require motorcycle riders to wear vests with the plate numbers of the motorcycles they are riding on visibly printed on them, at least when they ride through the streets of Quezon City. Currently there are two ordinances being proposed related to this.

The objective of the proposed move is to easily identify all motorcycle riders, especially the ‘motorcycle-riding criminals’ (MRC) and those who may figure in hit-and-run incidents. This is seen by those who are behind the proposal as an element to optimize the use of CCTV cameras, considering that more often than not the plate numbers of motorcycles basically due to its small size are difficult to discern when viewed from the CCTV monitors. 

In my interview with QC Police Director, Senior Superintendent Richard Albano on the Motoring Forum segment of the TV show Motoring Today last Sunday, he categorically said that presently, the wearing of numbered vests is not a mandated requirement with sanctions and penalties. The police are now just encouraging the motorcycling populace to help in this problem of difficulty of identification by wearing these numbered vests. They believe that the practice would dramatically decrease the incidence of crime committed by those riding motorcycles because with a widely supported practice they would be easily identified.

We also learned during the interview that this measure was reported to have practically lessened the incidents of crime committed by those riding motorcycles in countries like Brazil and Venezuela. But the real dramatic success of the numbered vests requirement was experienced in drug crime notorious Colombia, where many assassinations were done almost exclusively by motorcycle-riding killers until the law mandated its use. The figures reportedly instantaneously went down when the police started implementing the numbered vest requirement. And if I heard right, aside from the rider’s vest being numbered, the requirement extended to the motorcyclist’s helmet.

Lest I be misunderstood by our motorcycle-riding friends, this is not an endorsement of the measure but a reportorial account of the issue from the point of view of the police and those proposing the requirement.

Next Sunday, also on the Motoring Forum segment of the TV show Motoring Today (12 noon, Solar Sports, Sky Cable Network, Channel 70), we shall have as guest the chairman of MRO of Motorcyclists Rights Organization with their reaction to the proposed measure.

The issue has its reasonable pros and cons. A deep understanding of both sides is needed before any judgment is made and a ruling passed.

Public’s vote gains additional significance

When in last year’ search for the country’s most popular vehicles had in many cases reduced the significance of “aspiration votes” or votes coming from those who cannot afford to buy their favorite automobile models but merely aspire for them, this year we are making adjustments to correct this by allowing each duly registered voter a chance to vote every week during the entire polling period as compared to last year when only one vote was allowed for the 3-month exercise.  

Except for the increase in the number of votes the public may cast during the voting period, all the rules remain the same since the dramatic change last year when we included the actual sales of participating vehicles as part of the equation in determining the most popular and most preferred automobiles in each year and to draw a line between the luxury from the standard models, which are in many instances worlds apart in terms of prices making the public’s choice far from being “apples to apples.”

Preparations for the staging of 9th Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards are in full swing as public voting starts at 12 midnight of July 1, 2013 to determine the most popular automobiles of 2013 to 2014.

Voting would still be done online through Face Book and collated in the official website www.autofocus.com where combined results of votes represented by actual sales with a value of 60 percent and those cast online that is valued at 40 percent of the total aggregate score of each vehicle.   

There will also be valuable prizes that can be won weekly by those who vote online by way of electronic raffles, winners of which shall be published here on this column and similarly on the official website and on Face Book.

Sales of participating vehicles from January 1st to September 30, 2013 that are officially registered with the LTO (Land Transportation Office) through Stradcom, its official IT provider shall form part of the voting process.

Aside from the Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards, which determine the popularity and preference of automobiles available in the country, recognition and awards shall also be given distinctly to luxury and standard models that have outstanding features like best engine performance, best entertainment features, best design, etc., which would be voted upon by the members of the Philippine motoring media—Auto Focus Media’s Choice Awards. Motoring journalists, most of whom have test-driven most of the participating vehicles are unarguably the best to judge the quality and distinction of such features.

More updates on this year’s Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards in future publications.      

Peugeot test drive

By the time you read this article I would be with some motoring journalists in France with the president of Eurobrands Distributor, Inc. (EDI), who’s recognized as one of the local auto industry’s pillars, the indefatigable Mr. Felix Mabilog (with his gracious wife, Pritchie) for a test drive of another remarkable Peugeot model that’s bound very soon for the Philippine market.

The Peugeot brand is currently making a successful comeback to our local shores while now being expertly handled exclusively by EDI, which is part of the dynamic Columbian Motor Corporation that include Asian Carmakers Corporation (ACC), importers and distributors of BMW vehicles and Columbian Autocar Corporation (CAC) that handles Korean brand KIA vehicles.      

The first public appearance and launch of Peugeot’s current models available in the country was during last year’s Auto Focus Motor Show & Auto Expo held in November at the SM Mall of Asia. And at first glance the public accepted the big comeback of the Peugeot brand as proven by the actual sales made during the motor show and the long list of reservations made by automobile enthusiasts who saw their outstanding display and became eager to own car models of the French brand that were shown during the motor show. And now I’ll have the chance to be one of the few to test drive an up-and-coming model in the Philippine auto market. 

As I’m writing this article, I’m told by former top-notch newspaper motoring editor and now EDI’s marketing director, Dong Magsajo, that the other journalists in the group would include Lester Dizon of Power Wheels magazine.

Going through the 7-day, Monday to Monday itinerary, we’ll have two days of actual grueling test drives in Strasbourg. The rest of the trip would include two nights and a free day in Paris (get your credit card ready for the wife, my good friend Felix). Similarly we’ll spend two nights in Strasbourg and a half day trip around the serene old city. I was just in these places last year when we had our annual family tour but I don’t mind going back any chance I have. We’ll have a total of about 7 hours of Dubai Airport layover, which is not going to be that bad considering that we’ll be traveling Business Class and therefore in the Executive Lounge—that’s the EDI travel trademark.

Without a cameraman accompanying me in this trip I would officially be a print journalist covering the event. However, my good friend and event host, debonair Signore Dong Magsajo promised to do camera work for me. So you can expect an account of this event not only here in my PhilStar motoring column but in our TV shows as well.

Happy Motoring!!!

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