MMDA setting up motorcycle academy

Both experienced and beginner riders are expected to benefit from the training at the riding academy

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority will establish a motorcycle riding academy to reduce motorcycle-related accidents in the National Capital Region.

The academy will also provide free basic emergency response training for motorcycle riders.

“The Academy would provide riders with formal training on both theoretical and practical aspects of motorcycle riding,” the MMDA said in a statement.

A motorcycle safety training module would first be formulated by a technical working group that the MMDA will establish.

Both experienced and beginner riders are expected to benefit from the training at the riding academy which will be tailor-made depending on the skills levels of the trainees.

The modules will include the different types of motorcycles, their basic parts and controls, various road safety laws, provision of necessary driving skills and understanding risk awareness.

“Through this motorcycle riding academy, we aim to further promote road safety, particularly to our motorcyclists who are very much at risk to road mishaps,” MMDA chairperson Romando Artes said.

“It’s a good opportunity for them to refresh and hone their riding skills and to provide first aid to people who will encounter unexpected road accidents,” Artes added.

An MMDA study said 38 percent of road accident fatalities were motorcycle riders. Moreover, fatalities increased from 253 in 2020 to 295 in 2021, it added.

The proposed location of the academy is the vacant property of the Government Service Insurance System along Julia Vargas Avenue corner Meralco Avenue, Pasig City.

The MMDA and GSIS will enter into a Memorandum of Agreement for the utilization of the property.

The MMDA said it will also collaborate with Metro Manila local governments and other stakeholders in the promotion of the academy expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2023.