"The motorcyclists in Tucumán do not wear helmets, they exceed 40 kilometers per hour allowed, they cross lanes, they pass in red. They do not respect the law, "said Juan Masaguer, head of the Training and Emergency Training Center of Siprosa. And those characteristics given by the expert in emergent logs are supported by numbers: in the province one person dies per day in a motorcycle accident and of the 55,000 exits of the ambulances of 107, in 60% is a motorcycle involved That is why added the doctor, that the beds of the main medical centers are occupied by people injured in those shots. Undoubtedly, these are alarming figures.
In this context, the municipality of San Miguel de Tucumán, through the Subdirectorate of Transit and Transportation, added one more requirement for those who circulate on motorcycles around the city: as of May 15, drivers and/or companions should use reflective vests or bandoliers. Will that orange or yellow garment be added to the list of obligations that are not met on the street?
As explained by the author of the resolution, Enrique Romero, deputy director of Traffic and Operational Transport, the objective is that the motorcyclist is more visible to other drivers and will also help to make it more secure. "Around 160,000 motorcyclists circulate the city. From that total we managed to increase the use of the helmet: we went from 60% that did not use it to 40%. The same is about 64,000 kamikazes who walk without a helmet, with fatal consequences. And not to mention the investment in health that requires serving them," explained the municipal official.
The reflective vest, according to what the resolution specifies should be pure yellow, and yellow or orange-yellow; sixty centimeters long and thirty-five centimeters wide, and with reflective strips with a reflectivity of "three hundred and thirty candelas lux per square meter". In case of not wearing a vest, drivers must use shoulder straps or wear a garment with high visibility material. And if they use motorcycles with delivery boxes they should adhere to reflective material. "It is not a collection measure. We appeal to each motorcyclist to assume his responsibility concerning the circulation and personal or third-party safety when driving this type of vehicle," Romero added.
What to do?
They are not the majority and they know it. Uploaded to his motorcycle, Julio and Lorena Ascua recognize that in Tucumán few people take care of themselves and wear their helmets. Therefore, when asked about the new municipal requirement, they thought that it does not seem bad, that it will be a bit more in the rough sea of traffic in the capital. "We wear a helmet and try to be careful, but Tucumán is dangerous. More controls are needed," commented the residents of Las Talitas, who cross the city every day to go to work.
Any device that is implemented to improve road safety is positive, said Claudio Artaza Saade, an expert in Traffic Accidents (UTN) and a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Road Safety Agency and the Alerta en el Camino Foundation (at headquarters of Salta 118 dictate free courses of Road Safety). However, he believes that it is not a very important measure: "We must bear in mind that the Tucumán does not respect the use of a helmet. In fact, in 2017 we did a study that revealed that 60% of the motorcyclists that circulate in the downtown do not wear a helmet. Now the percentage must be higher. There is a lot of lack of awareness." Therefore, he argued that the most effective measure would be to improve traffic controls so that they understand that they must use the helmet. "They fill them with measures aggregated and obligations that do not influence in improving road safety. My personal opinion is that it is an electoral measure to say 'we are present' ".
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