EDITORIAL — Motorcycle casualties

Four people died in three accidents involving motorcycles in Cebu over the past few days.

Last Friday, December 12, motorcycle rider Abel Lawas, 48, died after he was hit and run over by a truck in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City. Investigators said the fault appeared to be that of the truck driver who didn’t only counterflow but also turned blindly into the path of the motorcycle.

Last Sunday, December 14, Arjay Paes Recapinte, 19, died after he lost control of his motorcycle, ran off the road, and hit a solar lamppost in Barangay Japitan, Barili town.

He didn’t have a driver’s license and wasn’t wearing a helmet at the time.

Earlier that same day, two others were killed after two motorcycles figured in a head-on collision on Panagsama Road, Sitio Cogon, Barangay Basdiot, Moalboal town.

A driver of one motorcycle, who was ferrying two passengers, was reportedly to be drunk at the time he was driving. He intruded into the opposite lane where he hit a motorcycle heading in the opposite direction. Both he and the other rider later died in the hospital.

In the case of the first accident it doesn’t appear to have been the rider’s fault, but in the second and third cases a little precaution on the part of the rider could have saved lives; the Barili driver could have worn a helmet to keep himself safe, the Moalboal driver shouldn’t have driven drunk and then intruded into the opposite lane.

While a motorcycle can symbolize freedom, there are still rules to be followed, like getting a license, wearing a helmet, and following traffic rules.

Again, motorcycle riders should be cautioned to take extra care when on the road. The size and speed of their vehicles can make it tempting for them to flout traffic rules. And even if they do follow traffic rules, they just cannot hold up against bigger vehicles pound-for-pound when it comes to a shoving match. It only takes a split-second for an accident to happen. In that split-second a life can change drastically, or even end.

It’s sad for those four to die just as Christmas is around the corner. But it must be said that they died because of the bad decisions that they or others made.