Are We there yet? Significantly insignificant
CEBU, Philippines - It never ceases to amaze me how legislators are able to draft and pass laws that have no significant use for the purpose it intends. What I’m trying to say is that laws are being made to try to curb or eradicate recurring illegal activities.
Take for example the directive in some provinces to blatantly violate Republic Act 10054 (Motorcycle Helmet Act of 2009) by banning the use of helmets in their metropolis. According to these directives, anyone driving a scooter or moped in their respective metropolis must not wear a helmet to ensure that their faces are visible to the naked eye and their identity easy to establish. As crazy as this may sound, the reason why this directive was drafted was to help curb crimes being committed by motorcycle-riding offenders. As we are all pretty much well aware, a fair percentage of crimes are committed by criminal elements riding in tandem. Apparently, the best solution that these provinces could think of is to trade off the safety of a great number of law-abiding, moped driving citizens by banning the wearing of helmets.
If you were to ask me, I would rather that they ban riding in tandem altogether. If there is only one person on a motorbike, the chances of them having full control of a moving vehicle with one hand, while trying to commit a crime with the other, would drastically drop. Unless you’re a trained circus stunt performer, pulling off such a daring criminal act would require precision, balance, control and steel nerves. I am not saying that performing criminal acts alone, on a moving scooter, is impossible. It is just quite a tough feat to achieve.
But what about the family members of the scooter or moped drivers? Wouldn’t banning riding in tandem force them to travel separately from their partners and cause even bigger difficulties? Of course it would be difficult and a great inconvenience for all of them. But do they care? Of course not. When was the last time you saw a complete family on one scooter practice utmost safety for all passengers? Usually, we’d see the driver wearing a government-prescribed helmet and the rest of them not wearing any head-protection at all. We’d be even lucky if the spouse would actually be wearing a government-approved helmet. At best, they’d probably be wearing a bicycle or skateboard helmet.
If these scooter or moped drivers don’t care enough about the safety of their family, these drivers would be better off travelling alone and greatly reduce the risk of brain trauma or injury to their family members. I think they should amend Republic Act 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act) to punish these scooter or moped drivers who place women and children at risk by not providing them with the proper helmets.
Then again, amending RA 9262 for such purpose would be just as effective as that last joint order raising traffic violation charges. It will initially be a cause for concern to most two-wheeled motorists, as many of them do not think about the safety of their children. But when one or two start realizing that no arrests are being made by the law enforcers, they will go back to their bad habits and place their family at risk. This suggestion, if it ever gets noticed and enacted into law, would be just as effective as trying to catch a deluge with a paper cup. Until then, we will all be stuck with rules and regulations drafted by law makers that are significantly insignificant since they aren’t being implemented at all.
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