'Nabuko tuloy': Road rage leads LTO to discover that SUV of angry driver has expired registration
At A Glance
- The Mitsubishi Montero, according to the LTO, was last registered in February 2022
photo: LTO
A road rage incident put a sports utility vehicle (SUV) owner in big trouble after the Land Transportation Office (LTO) found out the car has expired registration for three years now.
LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor D. Mendoza II said they are now conducting investigation to determine if the registered owner of the Mitsubishi Montero with Plate No. NFG9505 was the one driving the car when the incident happened based on the viral video posted on Facebook.
But based on the records obtained from the viral video, Mendoza said what is certain was that the last registration of the SUV was in February 2022.
“Verification from the LTO database disclosed that the motor vehicle was last registered on February 22, 2022, and has since not been renewed,” said Mendoza.
He said this is a clear violation of the compulsory registration requirement under Section 5 of Republic Act No. 4136.
Mendoza said the SUV was already placed under alarm and the owner was already informed about it through a show cause order issued by the agency.
In the video that went viral on Facebook, the vehicle was seen counter-flowing on a solid double yellow lane.
The driver of the SUV then got mad after a motorist appeared to have blocked his path. The driver was then seen angrily confronting the motorists before making a bad hand gesture.
The SUV driver even threatened to alight the vehicle to confront the motorist.
Mendoza has been encouraging netizens to post photos and videos of erring motorists, saying the LTO has a social media monitoring team that checks on all viral videos involving road safety rules violations, saying this is in line with President Marcos’ order to run after “kamote” motorists.
Hundreds of motorists were already issued with SCO, some of them were punished with revocation of driver’s license while some with suspension due to viral videos and photos of erring motorists.
In the SCO signed by LTO Intelligence and Investigation Division chief Renante Melitante, the registered owner of the Mitsubishi Montero was asked to explain why he should not be punished for having expired registration, as well as reckless driving, disregarding traffic signs, obstruction of traffic and being an improper person to operate a motor vehicle.
The SUV was also placed under alarm.
Once the identity of the driver is established, Mendoza said the driver’s license will be suspended for 90 days.