SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF TI-IE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
S.No. 1325 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 2, Sections 10 and II read: 
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AUG 15 P 3 :22 
Section II. The State values the dignity of every human person and 
guarantees full respect for human rights. 
There are motor vehicles designed to provide the desirable benefits of reducing harmful 
pollutants and operating with greater fuel, efJ}<)iency include gasoline-electric hybrid and electric-
only vehicles, and in the foreseeable future may include vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cell 
and other engine designs that rely on fuels and technologies other than the gasoline-powered 
internal combustion engine. These vehicle engine designs are likely to operate with virtually no 
sound being produced by the vehicle. 
The Philippine International Motorshow was a revelation of things to come; the inclusion 
of hybrid vehicles among the cars on display came as a refreshing variation. However, an 
ongoing study in the United States has produced some of the first scientific evidence that hybrid 
cars may pose a hazard to certain pedestrians. 
Blind pedestrians cannot locate and evaluate traffic by sight and instead must listen to 
traffic to discern its speed, direction, and other. attributes in order to. travel safely and 
independently. 
Other people, on the other hand, including pedestrians who are not blind, 
bicyclists, runners, and small children, benefit from multi -sensory information available from 
vehicle traffic, including the sound of vehicle engines. 
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Hence, failure to take immediate action assuring that blind pedestrians can hear hybrid 
and other silent vehicles in all phases of their operation will inevitably lead to pedestrian injuries 
and fatalities. 
Such accidents are preventable through vehicle designs. which take into account the. 
multi-sensory nature of traffic detection and avoidance, and require that vehicles emit a 
minimum level of sound designed to alert all pedestrians, especially blind pedestrians, to the 
presence of such vehicles. 
This bill seeks to direct the Secretary of Transportation and Communication to conduct a 
study and establish a motor vehicle safety standard that will provide for means of alerting blind 
and other pedestrians of any motor vehicle operation.
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MIRIAM DEIIYNSOR ~NT~GO 
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1 This bill was origbmlly filed in the FOUiteenth Congress, Second Regular Session. 
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's~l:H1h 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
). 
. tk)H,;, "I f!j' S.."rh,,' 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
'13 
~UG 15 P3 :22 
SENATE 
S. No. 1 :325 
flFCl .' ::i".' BY: r 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION AND COMMUNICATION 
TO STUDY AND ESTABLISH A MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY STANDARD 
THAT PROVIDES FOR MEANS OF ALERTING THE BLIND 
AND OTHER PEDESTRIANS OF MOTOR VEHICLE OPERATION 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION I. Short Title. -
This Act shall be known as the "Pedestrian Safety 
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Enhancement Act." 
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SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of State to value the dignity of 
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every human person and guarantee fun respect for human rights. 
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SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act, the tenn; 
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(A) 
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Transportation and Communication; and 
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(B) 
"Motor vehicle" is any vehicle operated or driven upon a public highway which is 
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propened by any power other than muscular power, except; 
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(I) Electricany-driven mobility assistance devices operated or driven by a person 
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with a disability; 
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(2) Vehicles which run only upon rails or tracks; 
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(3) Farm type tractors and an terrain type vehicles used exclusively for 
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agricultural purposes, or· for snow plowing, other than for hire, farm 
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equipment, including self-propelled machines used exclusively in growing, 
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harvesting or handling farm produce; 
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(4) Self-propelled caterpillar or crawler-type equipment while being operated on 
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the contract site; and 
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(5) Fire and police vehicles other than ambulances. 
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SECTION 4. Study of Method to Protect the Blind and Other Pedestrians. -
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(A) 
Required Study - Not later than ninety (90) days following enactment ofthis Act, 
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the Secretary shall conduct a study to -
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(I) determine the most practical means of assurmg that blind and other 
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pedestrians receive substantially similar information to information such 
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pedestrians receive from sound emitted by vehicles that use internal 
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combustion engines; 
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(2) determine the minimum level of sound emitted from a motor vehicle that is 
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necessary to provide blind pedestrians with the information needed to make 
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safe travel judgments; and 
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(3) consider whether the minimum level of sound requirement or another method 
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that conveys information essential for pedestrian safety provides the most 
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reliable information to support safe travel of blind and other pedestrians, 
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including: 
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(i) which method provides blind and other pedestrians the greatest amount of 
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information regarding location, motion, speed, and direction of travel of a 
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motor vehicle; 
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(ii) the cost and feasibility of each method, including the cost and feasibility 
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of equipping each individual pedestrian with any technology necessary to 
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receive information;' and 
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(iii) which method assures the least reliance by blind and other pedestrians 
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upon technology they must possess when traveling and thereby provides 
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the greatest amount of independence and opportunity for spontaneous 
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travel for these pedestrians. 
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(B) 
Required Consultation - When conduCting the study, the Secretary shall: 
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(1) review all available research regarding the effect of traffic sounds on 
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pedestrian safety, and commission such research as may be necessary; 
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(2) consult consumer groups representing individuals who are blind, other 
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pedestrians, cyclists, and advocates for children; and 
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(3) consult with automobile manufacturers and professional organizations 
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representing them. 
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(C) 
Report - The Secretary shall complete the study within one (1) year of its 
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commencement and shall transmit a report of the findings to Congress. 
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SECTION 5. Minimum Sound Requirement for Motor Vehicles. - Not later than ninety. 
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(90) days after the conclusion of the study required under Section 4, the Secretary shall 
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promulgate a motor vehicle safety standard to establish a method for alerting blind and other 
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pedestrians of the presence and operation of nearby motor vehicles to enable such pedestrians to 
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travel safely and independently in urban, rural, and residential environments. Such standard shall 
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provide that every motor vehicle be equipped with a method -
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(A) 
to provide blind and other pedestrians with a non-visual alert regarding the 
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location, motion, speed, and direction of travel of a motor vehicle that provides substantially the 
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same protection of such pedestrians as that provided by a motor vehicle with an internal 
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combustion engine; and 
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(B) 
that will permit a blind or other pedestrian to determine the location, motion, 
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speed, and direction of travel of a motor vehicle with substantially the same degree of certainty 
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as such pedestrians are able to determine the location, motion, speed, and direction of travel of a 
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motor vehicle with an internal combustion engine. 
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SECTION 6. Appropriations. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount as 
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may be necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. 
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SECTION 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
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valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
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with the provisions ofthis Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 9. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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