Concerted efforts needed to reduce traffic accidents<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The bodies of the 31 people who were killed in
\nlast week's traffic accident on the Jagorawi toll road have been
\nburied. That, however, does not mean the story has ended. The
\nauthorities are still probing the case, collecting evidence to
\ndecide who should be held responsible for the dreadful tragedy.<\/p>\n
The accident on March 23, one of the most horrible road
\nmishaps in the country, occurred when a Kramatdjati bus turned
\ninto an inferno after smashing into a Toyota jeep at the Jagorawi
\nturnpike, 40 kilometers south of here.<\/p>\n
All blamed the driver, Agus Arifin, who jumped out of the bus
\nimmediately after the collision. Most of the passengers were
\ntrapped in the vehicle and failed to escape as they could not
\nopen the automatic doors.<\/p>\n
Agus, who is in his late 30s, admitted that he had taken
\nbarbiturate pills before driving. Several pills were also found
\nin his clothing.<\/p>\n
He said he left Bandung at 1 a.m. on March 23, and arrived in
\nthe Kampung Rambutan Bus Terminal in East Jakarta three hours
\nlater. He slept after taking several bottles of beer. As soon as
\nhe got up at 8 a.m., he took two barbiturate pills, picked up his
\npassengers and left for Bandung.<\/p>\n
At around 10:30 a.m., as he was traveling along the Jagorawi
\ntoll road, he tried to overtake several vehicles by swerving on
\nto the hard shoulder. He did not see the three cars which were
\nparked there, and hit a Toyota jeep which was at the end of the
\nline.<\/p>\n
No vehicles are allowed to stop on the hard shoulder of the
\nhighway. In an emergency, motorists may park there but they have
\nto put up a safety triangle to warn other motorists of their
\npresence.<\/p>\n
The Toyota jeep was reportedly parked there as the driver
\nwanted to add some water to the radiator. The other two vehicles
\nstopped because they were driving as a group. The travelers were
\non their way to the Safari Park in Cisarua, Bogor.<\/p>\n
The accident would not have happened if the bus driver had
\nshown more discipline. The bus would not have smashed into the
\nToyota jeep had it not stopped on the hard shoulder of the
\nhighway. It might not have happened if the bus driver had not
\ntaken barbiturate pills earlier in the morning.<\/p>\n
But there are no time machines, and there is nothing people
\ncan do to change what has happened. A relevant question is how to
\nprevent more accidents.<\/p>\n
The Jasa Raharja state insurance company has paid compensation
\nto the relatives of some of the victims. The Directorate General
\nof Land Transportation has revoked the license of the Kramatdjati
\nbus. The driver, who is still in police custody, will probably
\nstand trial. But, neither the money nor the revocation of the bus
\nlicense nor any punishment that may be meted out against Agus can
\nbring back the dead. Agus might be charged with murder based on
\nArticle 338 of the Criminal Code, which carries a maximum 15-year
\njail term.<\/p>\n
Last year the North Jakarta District Court found a Metromini
\ncity bus driver, Ramses Silitonga, guilty of causing the death of
\n33 people in a horrible accident on March 6, 1994. He was jailed
\nfor 15 years.<\/p>\n
The packed Metromini bus was speeding when Silitonga lost
\ncontrol. It plunged into a highly polluted river and most of the
\nvictims drowned in the dirty water.<\/p>\n
The judges pointed out that Metromini bus drivers are
\nnotorious for their poor discipline. Thus, the sentence was a
\nwarning that the court would not hesitate to mete out stiff
\npunishment against other reckless bus drivers.<\/p>\n
It seems, however, that despite the harsh punishment given to
\nSilitonga, things remain pretty much the same. Many bus drivers
\ncontinue to drive recklessly, showing little discipline and
\nlittle, if any, care about passenger safety.<\/p>\n
Some of them claim they have to speed up because \"time is
\nmoney.\" If they can save time, they will be able to make more
\ntrips and pick up more passengers, and that means more money.
\nOtherwise they will not be able to make both ends meet.<\/p>\n
It is easy to put all the blame on bus drivers, but the
\nproblem is more complicated than just their poor discipline and
\ndesire to earn as much as possible. Bus drivers are not the only
\none who lack discipline. Motorists too often violate the minimum
\nspeed limit of 80 kmh on intercity toll roads and 40 kmh for city
\ntoll roads, driving slowly in the fast lane, forcing other
\nmotorists who are in a hurry to overtake them from the left, thus
\nviolating the regulation prohibiting overtaking from the left.<\/p>\n
The 29 Kramatdjati passengers who were burned to death died
\nbecause they could not open the automatic doors. The surviving
\npassengers blamed the driver because he did not open the doors
\nbefore jumping out of the bus. But the Indonesian Consumers
\nProtection Foundation also believed that the bus company should
\nshare the responsibility as it did not provide any fire
\nextinguishers or hard objects to break the windows in case of an
\nemergency. The foundation also said that large public buses
\nshould be equipped with emergency doors.<\/p>\n
Facts show, however, that the main reason behind traffic
\naccidents is the lack of discipline. Only a few cases occurred
\nbecause of engine troubles or poor road conditions.<\/p>\n
The police have made some efforts to improve discipline among
\nmotorists by regularly launching special operations to catch
\ntraffic violators.<\/p>\n
National Police Chief Banurusman Astrosemitro is determined to
\npay serious attention to the traffic as he is aware that fatal
\naccidents could happen at anytime.<\/p>\n
\"We will focus mainly on the improvement of the public's
\nawareness of the law and the police's attitude to its
\nimplementation,\" he said recently.<\/p>\n
It is no longer a secret that in many traffic cases, violators
\nprefer to settle the case \"peacefully\" by handing over a sum of
\nmoney, which is all too often accepted by the police.<\/p>\n
Both drivers and passengers need to show more discipline. But
\nat the same time, the authorities should be persistent in taking
\naction against traffic violators. This is not a guarantee that a
\nroad trip will be 100 percent safe. But at least, the number of
\ntraffic accidents might be reduced and more lives saved.
\n(sim\/bsr)<\/p>",
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