VIRAL: Toddler with no helmet behind motorcycle rider

MANILA, Philippines – Social media users expressed anger over a video showing a toddler aboard a motorcycle, positioned behind the rider and without a helmet.

The video, posted by Facebook page Pinoy Law Breakers, has drawn hundreds of comments criticizing the motorcycle rider for bringing a toddler along and exposing the child to unsafe conditions.

In the video, the rider was wearing a helmet while the baby seemed to only be strapped to the rider’s body.

According to the Facebook post, the person who took the video tried to catch the attention of the rider but to no avail. 

Illegal, unsafe

The motorcycle rider in the video is violating the law.

Under Republic Act 10666 or the Children’s Safety on Motorcycles Act of 2015, riders of two-wheeled motor vehicles are not allowed to travel with a small child on board. This has been implemented nationwide since May 19 this year. 

According to the law’s implementing rules and regulations, a child is only allowed to board a motorcycle on the following conditions:

• If the child passenger can comfortably reach his or her feet on the standard foot peg of the motorcycle
• If the child’s arms can reach around and grasp the waist of the motorcycle rider
• If the child is wearing the standard protective helmet or gear

The toddler in the video clearly did not meet any of the conditions stated by the law.

Violators of the law, like the motorist in the video, will be charged P3,000 to P10,000, with a month-long suspension of license for the third offense.

According to a report from the World Health Organization (WHO), motorcycle riders are the most common road crash victims in the Philippines. They have been the top victims of road crashes in Metro Manila since 2010.

Children are also at risk on the road with an average of 671 road crash fatalities involving children from 2006 to 2014, according to figures from the Philippine Statistics Authority. 

Among children, the most vulnerable are those 5-9 years old, and those 10-14. (READ: IN NUMBERS: Road crash incidents in the Philippines)

In 2014 alone, 253 children aged 5-9 and 195 children aged 10-14 died. – Rappler.com