Uruguay to be LatAm’s pioneer in ABS brakes for motorcycles
Uruguay is joining Brazil and Argentina as a pioneer in Latin America by requiring anti-lock braking systems (ABS) on all imported motorcycles, National Highway Safety Board secretary-general Adrian Bringa said Tuesday.
“We are working with the Transportation and Industry ministries, and we expect to have a bill ready by October to be submitted to parliament and, hopefully, to have it enacted by 2020,” Bringa said during a demonstration of motorcycle ABS in Montevideo.
The ABS installed in motorcycles will prevent riders from “falling in an abrupt maneuver,” Bringa said, adding that Uruguay had no specific requirements for ABS until now.
“Road safety must be approached from different angles, but control and inspections are the most useful tools we have to reduce accidents,” Bringa said.
Uruguay “is a small market” and “must adjust” to the pace set by Brazil and Argentina, the highway traffic safety chief said.
Once ABS for motorcycles “becomes mandatory and massive,” it will not be necessary to pass the cost on to consumers since “there are very low cost devices available,” Bringa said.
“If we achieve this goal by 2020, we, along with Argentina and Brazil, would be the first (in Latin America),” the official said. “ABS has been adopted in Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan, but not yet in most countries. This is an omission in safety policy for two-wheel vehicles.”
Motorcycle accidents, according to a study released in Montevideo by the Gonzalo Rodriguez Foundation on Monday, are the leading cause of death among children and teenagers in traffic accidents in Latin America.
EFE |
