DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/15 Feb) — The city has eased up on apprehending motorists who exceed the 30 kph speed limit, citing the need for some vehicles to gain more momentum in shifting from first gear to second.
In his Sunday TV program “Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa,” Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said motorists are now given a leeway of up to 37 kph.
He said he agreed fully with the recommendation of the Traffic Management Center regarding the speed limit because “when you shift from low gear, you have to maintain a certain momentum for the vehicle to adjust to the next gear.”
Sometimes, older vehicles would need more power before it could shift to higher gears.
However, the mayor clarified that the 40 kph and 60 kph speed limits outlined in the earlier guidelines will remain.
He said operators of the speed gun know how to determine if the vehicle is just gaining momentum to shift gears or about to beat the limits.
Speaking of limits, Duterte said the city has not invested in stationary speed meters yet.
At the moment, the practice is for various teams of the TMC, the Highway Patrol Group, and the Land Transportation to train their speed guns at oncoming vehicles to determine if these comply with existing traffic laws.
The closest thing to a stationary meter that could determine if the motorist was violating any law was for a traffic camera connected to the Public Safety and Security Command Center taking a photograph of drivers beating the red light.
“What we have now is more automatic,” Duterte said.
In an interview in last week’s Kapehan sa SM, TMC chief Rhodelio Poliquit said they have eased up on the 30 kph speed limit.
Poliquit said the city would need to hire 100 more traffic enforcers to manage the traffic in areas like Panacan and Toril, which are among the areas specified by Executive Order 39 for the 60 kph speed limit. (MindaNews)