Allowing a person without a driver’s license to drive your vehicle is a dangerous gesture and thus must be prohibited by law, a Quezon City lawmaker said.
Rep. Alfred Vargas III recently filed House Bill 6463 or the Motor Vehicle Safety Act which he intends to pursue in the upcoming 17th Congress.
Vargas said the bill, when enacted into a law, “will keep irresponsible drivers out of our roads and, in a way, ensure the safety of other drivers and pedestrians.”
The measure seeks to prohibit a person from knowingly permitting his or her motor vehicle to be driven by a person who does not have a valid driver’s license issued by the Land Transportation Office. The bill was referred to the House Committee on Transportation.
Vargas, who won a second term last May, vowed to re-file the bill and push for its approval even as he noted that road accidents are one of the leading causes of deaths in the country today.
A report from the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group revealed that the number of road accidents in the country is going up every year. The PNP-HPG attributed the increase to “human errors and lack of road discipline.”
These include over speeding, drunk driving, use of cellular phone while driving, bad overtaking, bad turning, mechanical defects, and poor maintenance of vehicles, Vargas said.
Citing a study conducted by the Institute of Advanced Motorists, Vargas also said motorists aged 16 to 19 are most prone to fatal road accidents. This, he said, “may be due to their lack of knowledge and experience in driving.” (Ellson A. Quismorio)