The new Transit Law 63-17 prohibits children under 8 years old from travelling on a motorcycle, among other measures to enhance safety. But this is one of the many provisions in the law that has caused discussions among the more than 750,000 motorcycle taxi drivers who transport children all the time. Nationwide, the motorcycles are used to take children to school every day. According to the Tax Agency (DGII) there are 2,238,671 motorcycles registered in the country.
The director of the National Institute of Traffic and Ground Transport (Intrant), Claudia Franchesca de los Santos, says that they are implementing a plan to ensure that the law is complied with, not only regarding the transporting of minors, but also other aspects of the law such as the compulsory use of a helmet and that only one passenger per motorcyclist be transported. The use of a helmet is met in Greater Santo Domingo, but not so outside of the capital city.
De los Santos says that the majority of accidents involving motorcycles did not happen in local neighborhoods, but on major roads and that was where they would begin to enforce the law.
However, an official from the National Center for Motorcycle Taxi Workets, Iván Lozada said that they were in agreement with the new law but felt it should be applied equally across all the sectors involved. He highlighted that often motorcycles travel in places where four wheeled vehicles could not so they were the only option for reaching some schools. He went on to say and that there had to be a realistic solution as to how to get children under 8 years to school.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
23 October 2018
