Cement mixer trucks to carry warning signs

MANILA, Philippines - The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday signed an agreement with owners of cement mixer trucks, requiring their vehicles to display “Loaded With Cement - Keep Distance” signs.

MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said the warning signs should alert motorists and pedestrians to keep a safe distance from cement truck mixers. “Cement trucks create serious risks for motorists and pedestrians, far more severe than the other smaller vehicles on the road,” he said.

Tolentino said the sign should not be less than 30 centimeters in height and must be prominently displayed at the back and both sides of the truck. Violators shall be fined P500, without prejudice to the imposition of other penalties for other traffic violations, he said.

MMDA records show 12 persons – seven of them pedestrians – were killed and 268 others hurt in at least 1,512 vehicular accidents involving heavy equipment, including cement mixer trucks, recorded for the first quarter of 2013.

“Cement truck drivers are usually in a hurry to reach the construction sites when they are carrying wet cement, and this raises the risks they pose on other road users,” Tolentino said.

The MMDA had earlier proposed the reclassification of cement mixer trucks from “ordinary” trucks to “dangerous vehicles” following the death last Tuesday of 21-year-old college student Marie Cherrie Inzon, who was pinned under a cement mixer at the corner of Araneta and Del Monte Avenues.