Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito said he intends to file a bill that would require the installation of speed limiters on all public utility buses. Under the proposed bill titled "Electronic Speed Limiter Act of 2014", the installed speed limiter will be programmed at a maximum of 60 kilometers per hour for buses
Senator Joseph Victor "JV" Ejercito said he intends to file a bill that would require the installation of speed limiters on all public utility buses.
Under the proposed bill titled "Electronic Speed Limiter Act of 2014", the installed speed limiter will be programmed at a maximum of 60 kilometers per hour for buses traversing EDSA, and a maximum of 80 kph for those traversing the North Luzon Express, South Luzon Expressway, Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway, Tarlac–Pangasinan–La Union Expressway, and Southern Tagalog Arterial Road Tollway.
The bill also proposed that to ensure compliance, speed limiters will be a requirement during application or renewal of franchise. There will be a non-compliance penalty and a suspension of the franchise until the requirements are met.
Ejercito is also contemplating on drafting another bill, which would require surveillance cameras inside buses.
"Surveillance cameras will serve as the blackbox so that few seconds before anything happens, we know," he said.
The senator cited Japan as a role model in the implementation of cameras and speed limiter on public buses.
Ejercito said he is optimistic that his bill will gain support from other senators, considering the rise in road accidents involving buses.
Sen. Francis Escudero, meanwhile, slammed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for its supposed lack of consistency in inspecting bus firms and their units.
"Regulators must do their job," Escudero said, adding that it seems the LTFRB is only active when accidents happen especially in monitoring the road-worthiness of bus units.