Truck destroys Sigma speed camera gantry

By Felipe V. Celino

ROXAS CITY, Capiz — The speed radar gantry of the Sigma municipal government was destroyed after it was hit by a cargo truck in Barangay Dayhagon, Sigma, Capiz.

The Sigma Municipal Police Station said it has established a lead on the identity of the truck that destroyed the structure.

A speed radar gantry is an overhead structure, often mounted on highway gantries or poles, that uses sensors to monitor vehicle speeds across multiple lanes.

Police Maj. Narciso Sables Jr., Sigma police chief, said closed-circuit television footage taken at about 7:21 a.m. April 28 showed that a cargo truck loaded with sugarcane hit the speed radar gantry.

He said the footage needs to be enhanced because it appears unclear, making it difficult to identify the truck’s plate number.

Sables said police will bring the footage to the anti-cybercrime unit for enhancement.

He said the Sigma Municipal Engineer’s Office has yet to assess the estimated damage to the speed radar gantry.

Initial investigation showed that the gantry was hit by the sugarcane load on the truck, which reportedly reached 16 feet in height.

Police said the load exceeded the standard maximum height prescribed by the Department of Public Works and Highways, which is 4.5 meters, or about 14 feet, for vehicles using national roads.

The Sigma municipal government enacted a speed limit ordinance last year to help curb road crashes.

According to the Land Transportation Office-Western Visayas, Sigma is the first municipal local government unit in the region to pioneer the passage of a speed limit ordinance aimed at reducing vehicular crashes in its area.

Municipal Ordinance No. 05, series of 2024, titled “An Ordinance Setting the Speed Limit for All Kinds of Vehicles within the Territorial Jurisdiction of the Municipality of Sigma, Capiz, and Providing Penalties for the Violations Thereof,” was presented to the media during a joint press conference by LTO-Western Visayas and the Sigma municipal government.

LTO-Western Visayas Regional Director Gaudioso Geduspan II expressed support for the ordinance, citing its potential to reduce road-related crashes.

Geduspan noted that speeding is one of the causes of major road crashes.

The ordinance outlines different speed limits based on road classifications under Republic Act 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code.