Clunk, click, buckling up worth it on your every trip<\/p>\n
\"You're joking, aren't you?\" was the practically cynical response
\nfrom a friend to the warning that \"you had better put your seat
\nbelt on because you'll be in trouble, if the traffic police see
\nyou\".<\/p>\n
Old habits die-hard, and so do bad habits. The truth is that
\nyou are now obliged to use a seat belt when traveling in a car in
\nJakarta and this is a good thing, not something that we should be
\ncynical about.<\/p>\n
But the awful truth about traveling in Jakarta is that you can
\nconsistently see things that are not only frightening but also
\ndownright dangerous. It seems that people often do not think
\nabout their own safety and so it is reasonable for safe, or at
\nleast safer, practices to be required of them by law.<\/p>\n
The law now proposes that anyone caught not wearing their seat
\nbelt can face a fine of Rp 1 million (about US$116) or even a
\nsentence of a month in jail. Perhaps this kind of penalty will
\nget people to see the common sense of buckling up. Then again,
\nperhaps not.<\/p>\n
Take the example of a family traveling on one of the toll
\nroads that sweeps through the center of Jakarta. With the car
\ntraveling at high speed, the mother was sitting in the rear seat
\nwith one of the children. Up-front in the passenger seat sat
\nanother child beaming out of the window, totally free from the
\nrestraint of a seat belt.<\/p>\n
The greatest concern came when viewing the driver's seat. The
\nfather of the family sat behind the wheel but standing on his lap
\nwas a toddler grabbing hold of the steering wheel.<\/p>\n
The family car sped through traffic at such a rate that
\novertaking maneuvers were required of the driver -- the father,
\nnot the toddler -- all the while having to compensate for the
\nfact that his toddler son was not only restricting his movement
\nbut also reducing his vision.<\/p>\n
Has this father never seen those images of crash test dummies
\nbeing hurled through car windows following an impact? Has this
\nfather never been horrified by the slow motion whiplash of the
\ncrash test dummies' necks, legs, arms et al as they are
\ncatapulted through glass?<\/p>\n
Apparently, neither the common sense of buckling up nor the
\npotential horrors of a high speed impact have reached these
\npeople's minds, nor the requirement by law to buckle up has not
\nreached them either. Common sense safety quite often seems to be
\nin short supply on the roads.<\/p>\n
Motorcyclists too can show an apparent complete disregard for
\nsafety that can only leave a safety conscious person
\nflabbergasted. A motorcycle often becomes a family vehicle, with
\nchildren squashed between their parents riding pillion in a way
\nthat makes you fear for their welfare. As many as four children
\ncan be seen squeezed between mom and dad.<\/p>\n
What is perhaps most disturbing about this is that the only
\nperson wearing a helmet is the father steering the motorbike.
\nCynically, it might be concluded that he only cares for his own
\nsafety. But no, when an accident happens -- of course -- the
\nfather is deeply concerned about his family..<\/p>\n
Jakarta may, then, have its enforcement of seat belts but how
\nlong will it take before there is enforcement of the use of
\nhelmets for motorbike riders, whether adults or children? The
\nseat belt enforcement has been assessed as being well
\nimplemented, with figures quoted as high as 90 percent usage, but
\nrandom inspection on the roads does not seem to back-up such
\nfigures.<\/p>\n
The friend who considered it a joke to be asked to use his
\nseat belt explained why people are reluctant to conform to the
\nrules.<\/p>\n
In his words, people here are just too bandel -- they just do
\nnot have that kind of discipline. Well, whether bandel or not,
\nlet's just hope that a little more common sense can be applied
\nand buckling up will become a good habit that people take up,
\nwithout having a traffic cop chase them to do it.<\/p>\n
-- Simon Marcus Gower<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/clunk-click-buckling-up-worth-it-on-your-every-trip-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }