Mototaxi accidents prompt review of safety laws
A series of road accidents involving mototaxis has led to a review of safety measures.
State legislator Víctor Merari Sánchez Roca said it is necessary to make a thorough review of the current road regulations with the objective of decreasing road accidents between motorcyclists and motaxistas.
He lamented that there continue to be mototaxi road incidents such as a recent one in Col. Xoclán Santos west of the city, where a woman lost her life.
The woman, around 50, was aboard a motorcycle taxi with her two daughters and a 3-year-old infant when the vehicle was hit by a bus. The mototaxi had taken an illegal left turn, according to newspaper reports.
“The mototaxis generate jobs and resources for families, but I think you need to be very sensitive and review the regulations to see where we can adjust security measures and call on citizens to be very aware that this type of transport to some extent is dangerous,” he said.
An earlier proposal to prohibit minors from riding a motorcycle, which will enter into discussion during the regular period of the State Congress, was turned over to the Urban Development Commission.
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“Due to the growing number of motorcycles, motorcycle taxis and other types of dangerous vehicles, it is necessary to make a revision to the regulations,” he said. “The first step we can take is the restriction of use to transport minors and then get into the subject of motorcycle taxis …”
Sánchez Roca added that addressing this issue will require the participation of citizens because it is a complicated issue. He said that in neighborhoods like Fidel Velázquez, most people are transported in motorcycle taxis.
So their prohibition would affect not only the passengers but also the families that depend on the income of the service.
Harassment in the street
In other matters, the PAN legislator reported that earlier this year he met with the mayor of Merida, Renan Barrera Concha, to review progress in terms of amendments to regulations that toughen punishment for street sexual harassment.
“Before the end of this month or the beginning of the other we can have Mérida as the first municipality in all of Yucatán to toughen this type of punishment and be able to replicate it in Progreso, Umán, Hunucmá, Ticul and Tekax, whose mayors have expressed interest in the idea,” he concluded.
Source: Sipse
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