Motorcycle helmet law: Classic case of red tape

The law that requires motorcyclists to wear safety helmets is long overdue — in more ways than one.

The shortened title of R.A. 10054 is “Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009.” It was passed three months into the following year, on March 23, 2010. Perhaps it took that long to draft a full-length title: “An Act Mandating All Motorcycle Riders To Wear Standard Protective Motorcycle Helmets While Driving, And Providing Penalties Therefor.”

The law took effect 15 days after publication in two newspapers. The publication came a month after the passage.

But the law didn’t actually take effect. Its publication merely signaled two government agencies to start writing the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). Those are the Departments of Trade and Industry (DTI) and of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

The process took all of one-and-a-half years. On December 26, 2011, the DTI and DOTC issued Joint Administrative Order No. 01 Series of 2011.

JAO-01:2011 spelled out the responsibilities of the two agencies. DTI is to ensure that helmet manufacturers and importers comply with UN safety standards. Too, that retailers sell only items marked “PS” (Philippine Standard) or “ICC” (Import Commodity Clearance). DOTC is to ensure that motorcycle drivers and passengers always wear such riding helmets, regardless of travel distance or terrain.

But the law still could not be enforced — not until the DTI and DOTC conducted an “information and education campaign.” Actually as far back as January 2009 the DTI already had begun imposing on makers, importers and retailers to trade only in helmets with the “PS” or “ICC” label. Meanwhile, news reports were mounting about helmetless motorcyclists dying from head injuries or suffering brain hemorrhage in crashes. It was just a matter of publicizing the list of compliant makers, importers and sellers; and the need to wear helmets.

It wasn’t that simple, though. For one, the “ICC” marks were being faked. On January 16, 2012, the DTI began issuing new “PS” and “ICC” stickers in hologram. This made easy the detection of fakes — if the checker is holding the right hi-tech gadget for it. Another hitch: motorcycle groups were raising all sorts of questions against the act. One point was that 31 American states already had repealed their helmet laws on grounds that “personal safety is a matter of choice.” (They didn’t say, though, that states that made helmets optional also made $20,000 [P1.2-million] additional accident insurance compulsory.)

The DTI announced two-and-a-half weeks ago, on July 12, 2012, the 32 compliant helmet importers and 51 tested brands. The DOTC’s Land Transportation Office announced that it would start enforcing the law today, August 1, 2012. Henceforth, motorcyclists and sellers who break the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009 shall be sanctioned, as follows:

• Motorcyclists without helmets: fine of P1,000, P3,000 and P5,000 for the first, second and third offenses; P10,000 and confiscation of driver’s license for succeeding offenses;

• Sellers without the “PS” or “ICC” sticker: fine of P10,000-P20,000 per offense;

• Users and sellers of non-compliant, substandard helmets: fine of P3,000 and P5,000 for the first and second offenses, plus other sanctions under the Consumer Act (R.A. 7394).

• Tamperers and forgers of “PS” or “ICC” stickers: fine of P10,000-P20,000, plus other sanctions under the Consumer Act.

During the morning rush hour last Friday, July 27, hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists crammed the DTI offices in Metro Manila and other regions. All were trying to beat the deadline to have their helmets inspected and stickered. As they spilled outwards, traffic jammed on major roads nationwide. By noon the DTI offices had run out of stickers. Improvised forms, marked “Priority,” were issued for applicants to come back Monday or Tuesday, July 30-31. Those who were not accommodated threatened to riot.

Instinctively bureaucrats blamed the Filipino mañana habit (procrastinating) for it. On closer look, it turned out that the DTI was at fault for taking a bahala-na (devil-may-care) attitude. (Psychologist Fr. Jaime Bulatao, SJ, had studied both traits since the 1960s.)

There are nearly four million motorcycles registered with the LTO. (Authorities calculate another two million unregistered units, mostly owned by local officials, policemen, LTO men, and similar scalawags, but let’s discount those for now.) The DTI never made a time-and-motion study of how long it takes to process one, ten, or a hundred helmets. Had it done so, it would have determined how many stickers to print, personnel to assign, and days to complete. It might even have computed at six million the number of helmets to be registered, given that motorcycles not only are for office but also family use.

If it knew about the nasty mañana practice, then the DTI should have devised counter-measures. Like, it could have announced what dates motorcyclists with the corresponding surname letters could get helmets inspected and stickered for free. Thenceforth, all late registrants would have to pay surcharge. That effectively would have thwarted the mañana habit with another Filipino trait: love for freebies.

At any rate, the DTI’s head office and Metro Manila branch made a big announcement at dusk last Friday. Starting the following week, they will use the spacious Rizal Memorial Football Stadium, rain or shine, to accommodate all sticker seekers.

It was too late, though. The DOTC had a better solution. It ordered its LTO to postpone the implementation of the Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009 by four more months — to January 1, 2013.

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