Seat belt law to be strictly enforced amid road crashes

MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Office will strictly implement Republic Act 8750 or the Seat Belts Use Act of 1999 as part of enforcing road safety measures, LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said yesterday.

Mendoza said he has instructed all regional directors and district office heads to maximize the use of social media and other mass communication platforms to encourage motorists to observe mandatory use of seatbelt.

“Our approach on this matter will be two-pronged. The first is on strict enforcement through the deployment of our enforcers and coordination with other law enforcement agencies. The second one is a massive information drive to make the motorists realize the importance of wearing a seat belt,” Mendoza said.

“This is part of stop road crash program which we will be aggressively pushing this year,” Mendoza added.

Under the campaign to promote the use of seatbelts, Mendoza said the LTO will coordinate with the local government units and tap the services of citizen groups and community organizations for the promotion of public safety awareness.

The Seat Belts Use Act of 1999 is the most violated traffic law in the Philippines. Under RA 8750, drivers and front seat passengers must wear seat belts in all private and public vehicles with a running engine.

For private vehicles, for first offense, a fine of P1,000 will be slapped against violators; P2,000 for the second offense and P5,000 plus a one-week license suspension for the third offense. For public utility vehicles, a fine of P3,000 for each violation for the driver and operator will be slapped.

With 577 vehicular accidents recorded in the past 11 days, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III renewed his call for stricter measures to address the alarming rise in road accidents.

“We should no longer ignore road accidents. We need stricter laws and better enforcement to protect our citizens,” Pimentel said.

“Road accidents can be avoided and reduced by enforcing stricter laws and improving our transportation system,” Pimentel added.

Pimentel filed Senate Bill No. 1015, seeking to amend Article 365 of Act No. 3815 (The Revised Penal Code), as amended, to address reckless driving and