Motorcycles renewing licenses must sign a pledge not to use sidecars

Motorcycles renewing their licenses must sign a pledge not to use sidecars, it has been learned. Currently, motorcycles undergoing license renewal are being asked to sign a pledge stating that they will not use sidecars, some motor vehicle license renewal service providers said. Motorcycles that do not comply will be subject to action under Sections 95 and 96 of the 2020 Road Traffic Safety and Motor Vehicle Management Law, according to the pledge letter issued by the Road Transport Administration Department (RTAD). It is known that most of the sidecar motorcycles operating in many suburban townships of Yangon city are unregistered motorcycles. During the sixth day of the second regular session of the third Yangon Region Hluttaw held on June 22, U Min Thein Tun, representative No. (1) for Mayangone Township, asked a question regarding whether there was a plan to issue official licenses and allow the systematic operation of sidecar vehicles and their drivers that have been operating in Yangon city for about eight years. In response, Major General Win Tint, the Minister for Security and Border Affairs, replied that over 80,000 sidecar motorcycles currently in use within the Yangon Region have not been officially imported, so they cannot be officially registered. He added that if three-wheeled motorcycles, which are officially allowed to be imported, are imported as replacements, permission will be granted in accordance with the RTAD law. Sidecar motorcycles began to be used for transporting goods around 2013 in cities in Mon State and Tanintharyi Region, which border Thailand, and coastal areas, and spread to suburban areas of cities in Bago Region and Yangon Region, which are geographically close. It is known that they have been illegally modified and replaced in local workshops, with sidecar motorcycles used for passengers replacing passenger rickshaws, and sidecar motorcycles used for passengers replacing cargo carts.