4571 and 4917

In 2011, House Bill 4571, known as the “Anti-Mobile Communication Devices Use while Driving Act of 2011,” was signed.  This bill prohibits the use of hand held mobile devices while operating a moving motor vehicle.  For those who never got around to reading the said bill, it means you can’t send or read text messages while driving and you can’t make a call on your mobile phone if you’re phone is not hooked up to a hands free device. 

What this means is, if you have a wireless or conventional wired headset, you can make and/or receive calls on your mobile phone while operating a vehicle.  Never mind that you take your eyes off the road for a darn minute to search for the contact number of the person you wish to call.  As long as you have a hands free device connected to your phone, you can yap away as much as you like.  You need not worry about the scarily, hefty fine of a measly one thousand pesos for a first offense.

However, there is something else in HB 4571 that got lost in translation.  Somewhere in there is a clause that states “Mobile communication devices refer to electronic communication equipment such as, but not limited to, cellular phones, i-phones, wireless telephones, two-way radio transceivers, walkie-talkie, pagers and beepers capable of transmitting, receiving, or both, of encrypted data and/or signals through wireless, electronic or any other similar means.” (Section 3-d)  And a clause prior to that states, “Implementing agency refers to the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC)-Land Transportation Office (LTO).” (Section 3-c)

So can someone please explain to me what two-way radio transceivers are doing in most taxi cabs?

Moving on to the proposed House Bill 4917.  This bill, with the full title “An Act to Prohibit and Penalize Reading, Composing and Sending Electronic Messages while Driving, and for other Purposes”, was filed in 2008.  As the title suggests, you will be penalized if you text while driving.  Section 3 of the bill, called the “Anti-Texting While Driving Act,” exempts the following persons from the prohibition against text messaging: members of law enforcement agencies on official duty; drivers of hospital ambulances or rescue vehicles while on duty; persons responding to any emergency case or rendering public service; and news reporters of television or radio networks.

Right!  So people who drive at break neck speed to respond to an emergency situation are less likely to figure in an accident when they text while driving.  I’m glad one of the representatives in congress was quick to point out this major flaw in this bill.  That was probably the reason why the bill didn’t get passed. 

Personally, I would’ve wanted this bill passed for the sole reason that the fines are hellishly hefty.  Up to one hundred thousand pesos and a six-month jail term for the offender.

The Automobile Association Philippines (AAP), our local version of the édération Internationale de l’Automobile (), has called for an absolute ban on the overall use of mobile phones.  According to the AAP, the use of mobile phones while driving was the 12th most common cause of traffic accidents in the country.  Good luck in that crusade.  HB 4571 made more sense, except for the measly punishment.

If you think about it, talking while driving isn’t really new.  Even before the invention of portable phones, we were already talking to other people and taking our eyes off the road while we were driving.  Have you ever had a conversation with a passenger while you were driving?  This is even worse than a conversation on a mobile phone.  At least if you get into an argument with the person at the other end, you can just switch off your phone.  Good luck telling your mother in-law to shut up.