Only "approved' if the last contents were SPAM as that is what the bucket will be used for when your head hits the pavement!
On a serious note! As we can imagine, this thread could go forever, we can all, have a laugh and make fun of it there is a serious side though, that doesn't even bear thinking about. When we are in Europe or the US. We travel high speed with all the protection, leathers, Boots and Gloves. expensive helmets we feel invincible. Now i have noticed that here, those that are wearing helmets seem to think they are invincible, the speeds have increased greatly down Lower Batinguel of late, no thought for anyone else but themselves, well we know they never have but now speed is involved. I hope that our underperforming medical facilities are ready for the onslaught of problems that can only come from this situation. more and more people are moving to 4 wheels just now, our roads are not wide enough or in good enough condition to take this additional burden and cope with speed as well. I am sure that I can not be the only one, to have noticed this phenomenon After Wednesday, I am sure we will see and hear many Reports of escalating motorbike accidents not just from speed but people just not used to a helmet, that are going to mow down pedestrians more than usual. I am used to Headgear, many are not, I can see a catastrophe arising all because of bureaucracy. The system was a working System, change it and it will break down i have said it before, why try and mend something, that was never broken.
Can’t say I agree with you Jack, I understand where your coming from though! These idiots on these bikes that weave in and out of traffic, and go flat out past schools have always been there and done it regardless of helmets, they were born invincible. It won’t matter if they have helmets or not, they pretend not to hear you, they cut in front of you or merge so that they are only one foot in front of your bumper, give them a blast of the horn and the fu—ers wont even turn their head in the slightest. It boils down to inexperienced and untrained riders, which have no manners and no patience and no brains, even the traffic controllers can’t control them, eg. This morning the traffic controller stoped the traffic on real st. to allow cross traffic to proceed, there was mixture of cars and motor bikes that had stopped and were waiting, and one idiot on a motor bike decided he had waited long enough and took off like a bat out of hell, didn’t give a sh-t that the controller gave a command or that there was traffic crossing, the controller even jumped out to try stop him, so that’s what we are dealing with here.
Do the Puliz give tickets? It seems to me that the Puliz have little respect and authority here because they chose not to have any. Blowing a whistle at someone breaking the law does not seem to have much affect on the the public here. I have only seen one ticket given here by a Puliz officer in my 9 months. That was yesterday to a GT Van, God know this group deserve a few. Now we know they will confiscate a motorcycle, that is money in their pocket, but do the Puliz here give tickets? I once saw the 200 Puliz Honda chasing a motorcycle north by the mall after an LTO checkpoint. The motorcycle went right at the "y" and the Puliz 200 Honda had not calculated the turn and had to go straight but the Puliz Passenger was yelling to the motorcycle to "STOP". It was funny of course the motorcycle got away and everyone got another good laugh as the 125 cc high risk driver beat out the 200 cc Puliz again. Other than whistle, stern looks and yelling does anything happen here?
I understand you Brian, I was more thinking of the Suposedly quieter, Barangay roads twisty bendy ones like ours. The Dumaguete Grand Prix starting grid at Real/ Silliman of course, is well known as idiot junction. My wife is totally convinced this implementation has been put of till january2013. she tells me it was on the Radio. Any updates anyone ??
There was a woman killed due to head injuries in front of my house in Candau-ay last month. There's a "cross" there now as a reminder to me to wear my helmet every time I leave the house. I think the news papers should report the number of accidents/deaths and maybe a few people would "WAKE UP" around here!
Perhaps they don't want to scare such sensitive people, or maybe the locals couldn't give a tuppenny toss, since it wasn't them or one of their loved ones that died?
She is correct Jack here is the article as I don't think I can submit links yet ...... sorry for the long read .... The helmet law requiring all motorcycle riders to wear one while operating or riding a motorbike was supposed to be enforced throughout the Philippines starting today, August 1st. Instead, it has now been pushed back to January 1, 2013. The helmet law's enforcement was postponed after the Department of Trade and Industry requested the Department of Transportation and Communications that it be given more time to inspect all the helmets that are being brought into the country. According to the DTI, it wants to ensure that all helmets that are coming into the country bear the Import Commodity Clearance seal issued by the Bureau of Products Standard. With the helmet law's enforcement being moved to January 1, 2013, the DOTC has directed the Land Transportation Office "to instruct its enforcers to issue reminders to motorcycle drivers about the issue starting August 1 until the end of the year" with no punitive measures--like the issuance of citation tickets--concerning helmet use during this period. From January 1, 2013, however, motorcycle riders caught driving or riding without a protective helmet that bears the ICC seal will be issued citation tickets and penalized from P1,500 for first-time offenders to P10,000--along with the confiscation of the driver's license for violators who are apprehended for the fourth time. So from today, August 1, until December 31, 2012, motorcycle riders and owners can submit their helmet for inspection and validation at the nearest DTI office to have the ICC sticker attached to it. According to the DTI, to process the inspection and validation, helmet owners must fill out an application form, which will be available at its offices, and attach to it a photocopy of a government-issued ID like their driver's license. According to the DTI, both the application form and the processing of the helmets for the ICC stickers are free of charge. I ain't gonna get into this discussion cause I rode my '81 Harley shovelhead for many years in Florida without a helmet .... but they do require you to have medical insurance with no helmet ...... and here unless you have a full suit of armor you ain't safe ..... IMHO ... :D
Thank you mike, lengthy but it tells all. Well Aug 1st or Jan 1st no matter, we were and are ready, I took them on a Shopping trip on Saturday, all afternoon, very little stock available (now there is a Surprise.) anyway I am happy to say that although we did end up paying Quite a bit, we are ready for the happening. You would have thought they were buying shoes, either wrong size or wrong colour, wrong shape. No matter we did it in the end.:p BTW welcome to DI Mike, hope you stay is a good one. JP.
