SPEED Kills! That’s a fact, it took a spate of deadly road incidents that claimed the lives of people for our beloved legislators to pass a law that now mandates trucks, buses and public-utility vehicles (PUVs) to have a speed limiter.
Republic Act (RA) 10916, or more popularly known as the Road Speed Limiter Act of 2016, now requires all public-utility vehicles, such as closed vans, tanker trucks, cargo vehicles, and shuttle services like the UV Express Vans, including taxicabs and jeepneys, to have a system that will limit the speed of the aforementioned vehicles. Its sole purpose is to secure the safety of the passengers and, most important, the public in general in our roads and highways.
But it seems the public who has clamored for this important piece of legislation has to wait a little bit longer, next year to be exact, for its full implementation as the resolution has yet to be signed by Metro Manila mayors. Oddly enough, these are the same officials who approved the enforcement of the speed limiter act last year.
However, despite the lackadaisical approach in its implementation both the Land Transportation Office and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority predicts that with the enforcement of RA 10916 early next year, there will be a big drop in the number of accidents involving speeding trucks and buses.
Speed limiters are devices used to control the top speed of a vehicle. This is done via installation of a mechanical or electronic communications system. A prime example of a speed limiter device is Autokontrol, distributed by Pioneer Trucks and Equipment in the country.
When fully enforced, it will limit the speed of trucks and passenger vehicles to just 50 kph down from 60 kph in all major thoroughfares here in Metro Manila, such as Edsa, Commonwealth Avenue, Roxas Boulevard, CP Garcia, Quirino Avenue, Taft, South Luzon Expressway, Shaw Boulevard, Ortigas Avenue, Magsaysay, Rizal, A. Bonifacio Avenue and McArthur and Marcos highways.
Vehicles that are covered by the Road Speed Limiter Act will not be allowed to renew their registration if they will not comply with the installation of speed limiter device.