Traffic penalties to be standardized

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the land Transportation Office (LTO) will standardize the penalties and fines for traffic violations to help the Estrada administration increase its tax collections.

This was disclosed yesterday by MMDA-Traffic Enforcement Center (MMDA-TEC) executive director Ernesto Camarillo during the agency's regular weekly press conference yesterday.

Camarillo said that the new measure is also intended to solve the ongoing confusion on fines and penalties imposed by the LTO and the MMDA on various traffic violations.

He said that the MMDA and the LTO are negotiating how to consolidate local traffic ordinances and national laws to come up with standardized penalties and fines. "The standardization of penalties and fines against traffic violators is also one, among many ways, to lessen violations of traffic laws," Camarillo said.

Camarillo said that the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will conduct public hearings to get the views of public utility vehicle operators, different transport groups and private motorists.

He said that a draft of the standardized traffic fines and penalties is scheduled for submission to the DOTC. "At present, both the MMDA and the LTO are apprehending motorists for traffic violations. But due to discrepancies in the fines and penalties imposed by the two agencies, motorists encounter confusion," Camarillo said. --