Road accidents have been happening regularly and one of the reasons for these mishaps is because of being unmindful of the speed limit, not knowing that exceeding beyond the required speed can put someone's life in danger. There is a new law that will consider the installation of speed limiter in public utility mandatory. This law is known as the Republic Act 10916 or an Act Requiring the Mandatory Installation of Speed Limiter in Public Utility and Certain Types of Vehicles. 

SEC. 4. Mandatory Installation of Speed Limiter. 

- No covered vehicle, following the effectivity of this ACt, shall be allowed to run in any road, street or highway in the Philippines without a standard speed limiter in accordance with the standards and specifications approved by the DOTC: Provided, That in case of vehicles which are already registered with any appropriate agency, this requirement shall be complied with not later than eighteen (18) months from the effectivity of this Act. 

SEC. 5. No Speed Limiter, No Registration

-No covered vehicle shall be registered by the LTO or given a franchise by the LTFRB without the standard speed limiter installed and set in the vehicle in compliance with Section 4 and Section 6 hereof. 

SEC. 6. Setting of Standard

-The DOTC shall, in accordance with acceptable international standards, determine the specifications of the speed limiters that may be allowed to be installed in the covered vehicles. The LTO or the LTFRB, shall supervise and inspect the setting of speed limiter corresponding to the maximum allowed in the route plied by a particular covered vehicle. 

SEC. 7. Accreditation

-The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) shall accredit persons, establishments or institutions producing, manufacturing or distributing speed limiters in accordance with the specifications and standards as may be determined by the DOTC. For this purpose, the DTI shall issue the necessary certification attesting compliance with such specifications and standards as a prerequisite for registration. 

SEC. 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations

-The DOTC, in coordination with the LTO, LTFRB, DTI and the Department of Science and Technology and in consultation with private stakeholders, shall formulate and promulgate the necessary implementing rules and regulations of this Act within sixty (60) days upon the effectivity of this Act. 

SEC. 9. Fines/Penalties

-a) The driver who operates a motor vehicle covered by this Act or the owner or operator who allows such driver to operate without the speed limiter herein required shall suffer a fine in the amount of fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00).

b) The same fine shall be imposed upon the driver, owner or operator who operates or allows a person to operate a motor vehicle with a nonfunctioning or tampered speed limiter. 

In addition to the above fines, a suspension of the driver's license for a period of one (1) month or franchise of a motor vehicle for a period of three (3) months, as the case may be, shall be imposed upon the offender who commits the abovementioned violations for the first time. 

For the commission of any of the foregoing prohibited acts for the second time, the driver's license of the offender shall be suspended for a period of three (3) months or the franchise of a motor vehicle shall be suspended for a period of six (6) months, as the case may be, in addition to the fines herein imposed. 

For the subsequent commission of any of the foregoing prohibited acts, the driver's license of the offender shall be revoked or the franchise of a motor vehicle shall be suspended for a period of one (1) years, as the case may be, in addition to the fines herein imposed. 

c) Any person who is found guilty of tampering as defined in this Act shall suffer a penalty of imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than (3) years and a fine of thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00)

The provision of this section shall be applied without prejudice to criminal prosecution or civil action under existing applicable laws. 

When panic attacks take precedence over presence of mind, it is hard to gather your thoughts and pull yourself together during road accidents. For sure, the steps to take if you have gotten yourself into road accidents have not crossed your mind unless you are involved. While going to driving school provides you the dos and don’ts of driving, experience is somehow the best teacher. The basic laws of driving are covered under the Republic Act 4136 or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code. The Act provides motorists with the information on provisions and traffic laws.

Section 5 of the RA 4136 tackles the processes of registration of motor vehicles. It states that “all motor vehicles and trailer of any type used or operated on or upon any highway of the Philippines must be registered with the Bureau of Land Transportation for the current year in accordance with the provisions of this Act.”

A fee of fifty pesos (P50.00) will be collected by the Bureau of Land Transportation and this fee is intended for the annotation of a mortgage and other encumbrances.

Section 55 outlines the duty of the driver in case of accident:

“SECTION 55. Duty of Driver in Case of Accident. – In the event that any accident should occur as a result of the operation of a motor vehicle upon a highway, the driver present, shall show his driver’s license, give his true name and address and also the true name and address of the owner of the motor vehicle.

No driver of a motor vehicle concerned in a vehicular accident shall leave the scene of the accident without aiding the victim, except under any of the following circumstances:

1. If he is in imminent danger of being seriously harmed by any person or persons by reason of the accident;

2. If he reports the accident to the nearest officer of the law; or

3. If he has to summon a physician or nurse to aid the victim.”

For the driver, it is important to ensure safety of people who are involved in the accident. Taking pictures of the accident is also necessary because this will serve as evidence especially if the other person denies the incident that has taken place. When taking pictures of both vehicles, the license plates and the area where the accident occurred must be included.

If it is possible, your vehicle must be moved off to the side of the road and let the investigator get all the details related to the accident. The information will be reviewed later on. If the accident involves another driver, an exchange of information must be considered. The essential details that you need to gather are name, phone number, address, policy number, insurance company, driver’s license number and license plate number. Do not forget to include the make and model of the vehicle.

After the exchange of information, contact your insurance company so you will be able to find out about the coverage of your insurance. An accident report must also be filed with the police department. A police report can speed up the process of filing for insurance claims. The report can be filed at your local police station.

Have you ever wondered why the roads in Manila and its neighbouring cities continue to be infested with reckless drivers? Aside from the stress that the heavy traffic brings, the tension arises when drivers fail to follow simple road rules and regulations. Countless incidents of road rage have ended into a bloody and deadly argument because of one reason: reckless driving. Why are these drivers granted license when they cannot even follow rules? Simple rules. Ah, it might have something to do with the way a written examination is administered.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) plays a crucial role in ensuring that the drivers applying for a license are fit and capable of driving people to safety. Whether it is a private or public utility vehicle, it is the driver’s responsibility to provide a safe driving experience to passengers. Road accidents are not an isolated case. It has continued to plague individuals who venture into the concrete jungle of Metro Manila.

By merely looking into the process involved in applying for a driver’s license, you can easily spot where the problem lies. We know for a fact that before you can obtain a driver’s license, you need to pass the written examination, but why would you do that when you can skip the process by paying off the LTO officer in exchange for a passing mark? Upon entering LTO’s premise, you can sure sense the presence of a fixer. Now, if you do not have the luxury of time, a fixer can make your life less miserable. You hand the money, the fixer hands the answer key. Not a wise move though.

While this may not happen on a daily basis, it is a rather a familiar scene in LTO that one cannot afford to turn a blind eye on as road safety is at stake. How can LTO grant a driver’s license to a person who cannot recognize basic road signs and markings? If you plan to secure a driver’s license and take the written examination, these crooks will render your efforts useless because there are undeserving applicants who manage to get their license effortlessly.

So long as this issue is not properly addressed, the driver-licensing examination will continue to be marred by money-making schemes and its credibility will remain questionable. LTO should know that it is not just a simple cheating because as a government agency, they are held responsible for ensuring that the drivers are deserving of securing a license.  Ignorance of the law excuses no one, especially if it is feigned ignorance. How can an individual ensure road safety if being on the road feels as though you are on your final destination? If LTO continues to shrug off these concerns, they are going to build more highways to hell.

We paid, they collected, we suffered. How about diving in a cesspool full of corrupt government officials waiting for another unsuspecting victim to prey on? P50 fee may not seem like a big deal but when this is paid for the supposed Land Transporation Office (LTO) stickers, you will wonder, where in the world did your money go? Did it just self-destruct or disappear into thin air after the people from LTO receive the fee? This excuse is tongue-in-cheek. Maybe the stickers are really existent except that only wise people can see them (talk about Emperor’s New Clothes). Let us know if that is the case and we will pretend that we do see those “special stickers”.

While the amount may not be something for a car owner to worry about, after all, it is just 50 pesos, but collectively, they are worth millions. These fees are collected from an estimated eight million car owners, and when the owners of registered vehicles came to collect the stickers, the agency known for its notoriety has nothing (as in zero) to show. The million dollar question is: where have all those fees gone?

It is easy to fabricate stories as to why the stickers are not yet available. These people from LTO can just tell car owners that the magical paper used for creating the stickers are not yet available. Of course, these car owners are not gullible to buy such a phony story. If you are already getting used to this kind of system, paying another P50 for “new stickers” may no longer be a big deal, but it does leave a bad taste in your mouth. How can you put your trust in these agencies when all they do is to scam people in many guises?

LTO is not only facing serious issues with releasing of stickers but license plates as well. They require motorists to pay the fee, but the stickers are not delivered. According to reports, LTO only released stickers for two-wheeled vehicles, but not for four-wheeled vehicles. This waiting game is going to test the motorists’ patience.

If you have keenly observed the number of years you have been paying for these stickers, you will come to realize that you have been completely ripped off. You were tricked into believing that these stickers really exist, but they are just a façade of the dark truth about unscrupulous fee collection that has been dragging LTO into the quagmire of corruption. From a far, these people looked as though they were drowning, but they are simply waving the fees they collected from motorists.

The increasing number of vehicular accidents in the country is mainly due to the driver’s fault according to Land Transportation Office (LTO) statistics. In fact, about 80 percent of these accidents have been blamed on the driver’s carelessness. Is there any reason for the alarming increase of vehicular accidents? It all goes back to obtaining driver’s license where a series of tests is conducted to ensure that the driver is fit to drive. Unfortunately, “fixers” never cease to prey on people who want to take the shortest route for processing their application. This means, applicants no longer have to undergo the long and tedious process of undergoing medical, drug and driving tests.

Now, if these applicants have horrible eye sights, they will have trouble seeing traffic signs. Bypassing the drug test can also have a serious impact because letting users or pushers drive is already an accident waiting to happen. If an applicant undergoes the usual process for obtaining a license, they will also be required to take a written exam. Fixers already have pre-answered examination forms, which are given to the applicants who agree to the fixers’ terms.

The drivers, who have obtained their license legally, can go to war in full battle gear. They are prepared and well-trained because they know what to do. On the other hand, people who have only obtained their licenses with the help of fixers can be compared to a defenseless soldier. This is unfair to those who choose to wait for hours just to get their license. Imagine waiting in line while others have the ability to bypass these processes.

Aside from fixers, there are other problems that LTO has yet to face. How would you feel if your supposed sticker has not been registered or to put it bluntly, has been non-existent? You paid 50 pesos for the plate sticker in high hopes that your vehicle has been registered then lo and behold, you were duped!

Under the Aquino administration alone, LTO has already pocketed a whopping P410 million pesos from owners who are completely clueless. If you think the Bureau of Customs (BOC) and Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) are doing the corruption indiscreetly, LTO has just broken the record.  LTO owes every vehicle owner an explanation. For just 50pesos, this agency has pocketed 410 million pesos and to say they have ripped everyone off is indeed an understatement. LTO will not refund the money, but they cannot even explain where the money went. The reasons are esoteric and mysterious, or perhaps, like the plate stickers, non-existent.