CEBU, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Jerry Guardo has proposed an ordinance mandating electric scooter (e-scooter) or bike (e-bike) drivers to wear protective helmets and reflectorized stickers/vest/lights.
The proposed ordinance entitled “E-scooter and Bike Helmet and Reflectorized Ordinance” was referred to Committee on Laws, Ordinances, and Styling for review.
Under the new normal due to the COVID-19 pandemic, bicycles and e-scooters/e-bikes have become a necessity for people who commute here.
Section 4 of the proposed ordinance provides that all e-scooter and bike drivers shall at all times wear protective helmets and wear reflectorized vest/stickers/lights while driving, whether long or short drives, in any type of road and highway within the city.
Section 5 states that any person driving an e-scooter or e-bike on any road in the city shall drive the same at a careful and prudent speed of not more than 30 kilometer per hour (kph), having due regard for the traffic, width of thoroughfares, and of any other condition then and there existing.
The violators will be penalized with a fine of P1,500 for first offense; P3,000, second offense; and P5,000 and confiscation of the e-scooter/bike, third offense.
In addition, any person driving an e-scooter or e-bike caught not observing the required maximum speed of 30 kph shall be punished with a fine of P1,500.
“The increasing numbers of accidents involving e-scooters or bikes within the City of Cebu compromise the maintenance of peace and order and the promotion of public security and safety necessary for the advantage of the general welfare of the people,” read the proposed measure.
“There is an indispensable need to enact an ordinance that will seek to prevent and avoid accidents in the of the City of Cebu involving e-scooters/bikes on one hand and vehicles/motorcycles on the other,” it further read.
The city government aims to promote and ensure the protection, security, and safety of its people from all forms of road accidents, particularly the injurious effect of fatal or life threatening accidents.
Once approved, the annual budget for the Cebu City Traffic Office (CCTO) in the implementation of the ordinance shall be charged against the General Fund Appropriations in the amount of P500,000.
The CCTO is mandated to issue guidelines necessary to implement the provisions of the ordinance. — KQD (FREEMAN)