Any Ban on National Highways or any other road should have prohibited road signs to inform the driver according to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
The Philippines is a Contracting party to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals. The Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals was ratified by Presidential Decree No. 207 (1973), thus adopting and making the convention “part of the law of the land.”
So if you get stopped and are told you are prohibited from that road, ask them where is the road sign that prohibits you from using that road. If there is no road sign then they can’t expect you to know you were prohibited and they themselves are not following the law.
If they say there was a sign a few intersections back this is not good enough as the clearly states that the signs should be repeated at each intersection or the prohibition no longer applies.
The road signs should also be reflective or illuminated.
I am sure there is no LGU that would knowingly fine you without following the law themselves. It is up to us to inform them that any Ban on National Highways or any other road requires them to put up reflective prohibited signs at every intersection.
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
Ban on National Highways and Road Signs Law
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals
ARTICLE 3
Obligations of the Contracting Parties
1. (a) The Contracting Parties to this Convention accept the system of road signs, signals and symbols and road markings described herein and undertake to adopt it as soon as possible.To this end, (i) Where this Convention prescribes a sign, symbol or marking for signifying a certain rule or conveying certain information to road-users, the Contracting Parties undertake, subject to the time-limits specified in paragraphs 2 and 3 of this Article, not to use any other sign, symbol or marking for signifying that rule or conveying that information;
ARTICLE 11
Prohibitory or restrictive signs
Section C of Annex 1 to this Convention describes the prohibitory and restrictive signs and gives their meaning. It also describes the signs notifying the end of these prohibitions and restrictions or of any one of them.
1.Prohibitory, restrictive and mandatory signs shall be placed in the immediate vicinity of the point where the obligation, restriction or prohibition begins and may be repeated if the competent authorities consider it necessary. Nevertheless, if the competent authorities consider it advisable for reasons of visibility or in order to give users advance warning, these signs may be placed at a suitable distance in advance of the point where the obligation, restriction or prohibition applies. An additional panel H, 1 of Annex 1, section H shall be placed under signs set up in advance of the point where the obligation, restriction or prohibition applies.
3. Prohibitory and restrictive signs shall apply as from the place they are displayed until the point where a contrary sign is displayed, otherwise until the next intersection. If the prohibition or restriction should continue to be applied after the intersection the sign shall be repeated in accordance with provisions in domestic legislation.
PROHIBITORY OR RESTRICTIVE SIGNS
I. General characteristics and symbols
1. Prohibitory and restrictive signs shall be circular; their diameter shall be not less than 0.60 m outside built-up areas and not less than 0.40 m or 0.20 m for signs prohibiting or restricting standing and parking in built-up areas. 2. Unless otherwise specified where the signs in question are described, prohibitory or restrictive signs shall have a white or yellow ground or blue ground for signs prohibiting or restricting standing and parking with a wide red border; the symbols and the inscriptions, if any, shall be black or dark blue and the oblique bars, if any, shall be red and shall slope downwards from left to right.
Descriptions 1.
Prohibition and restriction of entry
(c) Notification that entry is prohibited for a certain category of vehicle or road-user only, shall be given by a sign bearing as a symbol the silhouette of the vehicles or road-users whose entry is prohibited.
The road signs used in Tagaytay to prohibit Tuk Tuks are not legal, as they do not follow the Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals.
Vienna Convention on Road Signs and Signals in full
Download it and keep a copy with you and if there is no Prohibited signs use it to defend yourself if they stop you saying there is a Ban on National Highways.
