The Land Transportation Office is preparing for the eventual enforcement of a new Administrative Order that provides for stiffer fines and penalties for violations of land transportation rules.
In a briefing held Friday, LTO officials from the regional office in Cebu City said the higher fines and penalties are intended to discipline transport operators and drivers.
It’s a well-accepted and well-documented fact that so many drivers of public and private vehicles lack discipline.
It appears that many drivers are ignorant of even simple rules such as keeping within the speed limit, who has the right-of-way (always make way for ambulances), the rights of pedestrians (drivers should yield to crossing pedestrians), making a full stop on those red Stop signs, giving the proper signal (especially when turning left), prohibition on the use of slippers by drivers of vehicles for hire, or the no-parking zones.
We’ve seen a lot of public utility vehicles that are overloaded and poorly maintained.
Worse, we’ve seen a lot of accidents and needless loss of life as a result of these violations.
Yes, such laws are in place, but alas, there are apparently very few enforcers.
In Negros Oriental alone, there are only 11 deputized personnel at the LTO who can lawfully arrest violators: six in Bais City, three in Dumaguete, and two in Bayawan City.
And how many vehicles are there on the road? Three years ago, 57 new motorcycles alone would be added on the average each day to the records of the Dumaguete LTO office.
The number of vehicles plying our roads and highways now has definitely grown; the number of enforcers have remained the same.
How can we confidently say that 11 traffic enforcers can effectively police the roads, and keep them free from LTO rule violators, when they also have other functions such as registration of motor vehicles, and licensing of drivers?
Stiffer fines may not be the answer to our road problems, and is actually a case of putting the cart before the horse.
What we need are trained, deputized, and honest people to enforce such laws.
