- Thread starter DOMINCAN JOE
- Start date
Thugs on motocycles; big problem, few answers
Use a gun here and you'll be doing a rug-dance in front of the local Hefe and probably do some time on the side and pay mucho dinero to maintain your freedom!
Been there, done that, killed one and did NO TIME. And paid the middle of a bagel.
Motoconchos are all over Colombia and very cheap, but technically illegal if they have only 2 wheels, this is why the 3 wheeled (mototaxi) variety is so popular.
I believe (could be wrong) that a city needs to have a certain population before it can "officially" have a mototaxi service, although this is basically ignored in Colombia
So what's the solution?
Just like Tom0910 posted about Medellin. Limit the amount of males that can go on a motorcycle in large cities. As Derfish posted, those providing "legal" taxi services should have their plate numbers on their helmets and hi-viz vest. Combine the above with a "Pica y Placa" system to regulate the days, cars, taxis and motorbikes can use the roads. In some towns in Colombia, they ban motorbikes all together on certain days at peak times.
It works in Colombia in most cases, you just need to have the brains, motivation and will to actual implement a scheme, it's not rocket science.
I lived in Colombia and never saw a moto taxi once.Motoconchos are all over Colombia and very cheap, but technically illegal if they have only 2 wheels, this is why the 3 wheeled (mototaxi) variety is so popular.
I believe (could be wrong) that a city needs to have a certain population before it can "officially" have a mototaxi service, although this is basically ignored in Colombia
So what's the solution?
Just like Tom0910 posted about Medellin. Limit the amount of males that can go on a motorcycle in large cities. As Derfish posted, those providing "legal" taxi services should have their plate numbers on their helmets and hi-viz vest. Combine the above with a "Pica y Placa" system to regulate the days, cars, taxis and motorbikes can use the roads. In some towns in Colombia, they ban motorbikes all together on certain days at peak times.
It works in Colombia in most cases, you just need to have the brains, motivation and will to actual implement a scheme, it's not rocket science.
I went to a mountain resort area where Colombians have second homes. Along the highway there is an area where hundreds of motos and many hundreds of young people hang out, play loud music and generally enjoy being middle class.
At the night clubs in Medellin the coat check was chock a block full of helmets and leather jackets.
At the night clubs in Medellin the coat check was chock a block full of helmets and leather jackets.
I live in Colombia 8-9 months per year and see plenty of them. Then again, I have clocked up 15,000+ miles touring all over Colombia on my bike. It's only in Medellin they appear to be prohibited, although you will find them in the poorer barrios.
I found a couple of articles about them.
http://www.eluniversal.com.co/colombia/los-mototaxistas-se-tomaron-10-capitales-de-colombia-178487
http://www.taringa.net/comunidades/colombiaringa/6675042/Mototaxi-a-la-orden.html
Want to make a dent in the moto problem?
1) Stop and seize every moto without a valid license plate
2) Enforce helmet laws for driver and passenger everywhere.
3) Seize and destroy these franken-motos that are not road worthy and cannot reasonably be made so
4) Register motoconchos, vests, special sticker on plate
5) Fine the driver & passenger seen paying unregistered moto
6) Limit ridership to driver and one passenger at a time
7) Limit motoconcho for hire operation to daylight hours only
8) Ban motoconcho use for school purposes transportation and passengers under the age of 16.
9) Roadside safety inspections with a mechanic onsite. Lights, horn, brakes, tire issues to be repaired on the spot or moto seized.
10) Anyone convicted of using a moto in the commission of a crime, is issued a bright red license plate for every moto they register for the next 5 years for all to see. Enforce a no passenger rule on red plated motos.
11) Enforcement, enforcement, enforcement!
Where there is a genuine will, there is a way. Behaviors only change when there is a real cost for not following the rules. Lose a couple of motos for not wearing a helmet and you'll get the message. Have to pay a steep fine for driving a moto without a light that would only cost $100 pesos to fix. It goes without saying, no driver's license, moto is automatically forfeited on the spot and will not be returned.
Initially, storing all of these confiscated motos will be a problem. Allow only 48 hours for the payment of the fine, to produce registration, plate documentation etc or owner forfeits the moto and it is destroyed or auctioned off.
For safety violations that make the moto dangerous to operate, if repairs cannot be made and paid for then and there by the mechanic onsite, the moto is sent for destruction. Drivers have to learn to not let their equipment become unsafe in the first place and no one wants to be chasing these negligent operators down again to ensure needed repairs were actually completed.
For an extended period of time, the police that drive up and down the roadway, lights flashing, but doing essentially nothing of importance, need to be instructed to chase down every single moto infraction they see.
When the moto situation is somewhat improved, the govt can start working on the cars and trucks that clearly have no business being on the road.
Any of this going to happen, probably not, so the problems just continue...
1) Stop and seize every moto without a valid license plate
2) Enforce helmet laws for driver and passenger everywhere.
3) Seize and destroy these franken-motos that are not road worthy and cannot reasonably be made so
4) Register motoconchos, vests, special sticker on plate
5) Fine the driver & passenger seen paying unregistered moto
6) Limit ridership to driver and one passenger at a time
7) Limit motoconcho for hire operation to daylight hours only
8) Ban motoconcho use for school purposes transportation and passengers under the age of 16.
9) Roadside safety inspections with a mechanic onsite. Lights, horn, brakes, tire issues to be repaired on the spot or moto seized.
10) Anyone convicted of using a moto in the commission of a crime, is issued a bright red license plate for every moto they register for the next 5 years for all to see. Enforce a no passenger rule on red plated motos.
11) Enforcement, enforcement, enforcement!
Where there is a genuine will, there is a way. Behaviors only change when there is a real cost for not following the rules. Lose a couple of motos for not wearing a helmet and you'll get the message. Have to pay a steep fine for driving a moto without a light that would only cost $100 pesos to fix. It goes without saying, no driver's license, moto is automatically forfeited on the spot and will not be returned.
Initially, storing all of these confiscated motos will be a problem. Allow only 48 hours for the payment of the fine, to produce registration, plate documentation etc or owner forfeits the moto and it is destroyed or auctioned off.
For safety violations that make the moto dangerous to operate, if repairs cannot be made and paid for then and there by the mechanic onsite, the moto is sent for destruction. Drivers have to learn to not let their equipment become unsafe in the first place and no one wants to be chasing these negligent operators down again to ensure needed repairs were actually completed.
For an extended period of time, the police that drive up and down the roadway, lights flashing, but doing essentially nothing of importance, need to be instructed to chase down every single moto infraction they see.
When the moto situation is somewhat improved, the govt can start working on the cars and trucks that clearly have no business being on the road.
Any of this going to happen, probably not, so the problems just continue...
That's the problem. In a poor country enforcement is generally unaffordable. All the laws you mentioned do nothing without the enforcement infrastructure to deal with them.