Philippines Mandates Automatic Headlights for Motorcycles
With 178 deaths of motorcycle riders and 7,905 injured in various road accidents last year, the House Committee on Transportation in Philippines knew they had to do something. And thus House Bill 1318 came about.
(Image taken from Intelligent Transport)
The measure seeks to mandate mechanisms for motorcycles that will automatically turn on the vehicle’s headlights when the engine is started. Proposed as the “Mandatory Automatic Headlights On for Motorcycles Act”, the act also requires motorists to keep their headlights on at any given time of the day as long as they are on the road.
Every motorcycle will also be required to be equipped with at least one to two working headlights, and the headlights’ intensity must be adequate to reveal any pedestrian or vehicle in the following requirements:
Speed of Motorcycle
Reveals person/vehicle at a Distance of more than
40.225 km/h ==== 30.5 meters
40.225 - 56.315 km/h ==== 61 meters
More than 56.315 km/h ==== 91.5 meters
If the motorcycle has a multi-beam headlight, the upper beam must meet the above requirements.
This will increase the motorcycle’s visibility and hopefully reduce road crashes and prevent day and night time collisions in this low-cost move.
The bill also states that motorcycle manufacturers, assemblers and distributors will have to ensure that an “automatic headlights on” system or device is installed properly on the vehicle before it is distributed and sold.
Punishments will be meted out by the Land Transportation Office to those who violate the provisions of the proposed act; motorists will be fined and the manufacturers and distributors who flout the rules will also be suspended of their license to operate.