A motorcycle rider has died after crashing against a passenger bus in the EDSA Busway today, August 19, according to a post by the Special Action and Intelligence Committee for Transportation (SAICT).
No further details have been provided as of this writing, except for the fact that the fatal incident occurred at the North Avenue Station of the bus carousel. SAICT also reiterated the importance of following the EDSA Busway rules.
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“This morning’s tragic incident at the EDSA Busway—[the] death of a motorcycle rider after crashing against a passenger bus—underscores the critical consequences of failing to respect the Busway’s safety regulations.
“The prevailing notion that [the] absence of an enforcer allows drivers to use the Busway cannot be more wrong [based on] what happened at the North Avenue station of the Busway.
“The public is again reminded that the EDSA Busway is reserved exclusively for buses. Violators not only endanger themselves but also the safety of others.”
In November last year, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) introduced higher fines for EDSA Busway violators:
- First offense – P5,000
- Second offense – P10,000, plus one-month suspension of driver’s license and mandatory road safety seminar
- Third offense – P20,000, plus one-year suspension of driver’s license
- Fourth offense – P30,000, plus possible revocation of driver’s license
The only vehicles allowed to use the EDSA Busway are public utility buses authorized to service the route, emergency vehicles like ambulances, vehicles involved in EDSA Busway construction and maintenance, and the convoys of the President, the Vice President, the Senate president, the House speaker, and the Supreme Court chief justice.
Motorists trying to get past gridlock still continue to violate EDSA Busway rules, however: On August 15, for instance, SAICT recorded 57 apprehensions involving three private vehicles, two provincial buses, two government vehicles, and 50 motorcycles.
Violators are known to avoid apprehension by suddenly changing lanes and speeding past traffic enforcers. One apprehended rider berated traffic enforcers last year, insisting they should man the EDSA Busway at all times, presumably so that motorists aren’t tempted to use it illegally.
