Road Rage Act Seeks Penalties And Long Jail Time For Violators
ROAD RAGE ACT – For drivers who are prone to road rage, harsh penalties and possible imprisonment await under a new House bill at the House of Representatives.
The rise of road rage related incidents had increased in the Philippines. Recently, video footage of an intense road rage incident between a Lalamove rider and its fellow motorist circulated online.
In the video, it can be seen that the motorists and its passenger accidentally hit a Lalamove rider. The collision resulted in a traffic altercation, which nearly leads to a fistfight.
Because of incidents like this, San Jose del Monte City Rep. Florida Robes filed House Bill No. 5759 or the Anti-Road Rage Act of 2019. Violators of the proposed bill may face a P250,000 fine 6-years of imprisonment.
According to an article from Inquirer, Robes wanted to impose a stricter penalty on aggressive and violent drivers. Under the bill, here are some of the actions categorized as road rage:
- Mild to Moderate Screaming
- Wild Gesturing at others
- Cursing or using bad language
- Physical Attack at another
- Attempted Physical Attack at another
- Reckless Driving
- Any kind of threat or intimidation
- Any use of force against another person
As per the article, the bill can impose a six month to six-year jail time. In addition to this, those who engage in any of the actions listed above will face at least P250,000 in charges.
Aside from the penalties, the offender’s driver’s license would be suspended for five years following violations. With this, the Anri-Road Rage bill had been referred to the House of transportation headed by Rep. Edgar Mary Sarmiento.
The author of the bill noted that eight out of 10 drivers admitted to showing aggressive behavior on the road. In addition to this, 9 out of 10 believed that aggressive driving was a threat to personal safety.
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