Police revive campaign on seat belts<\/p>\n
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Model and TV personality Olga Lidya repeatedly thanks God that
\nshe survived a major traffic accident almost unscathed on the
\ntoll road on her way from Bandung to Jakarta late last month.<\/p>\n
"I was going 100 kilometers per hour because I was in a hurry
\nas I had something to do in Jakarta. I hit a truck hard on a
\nbend, but I was OK and only had a few scratches on my hand."<\/p>\n
Olga said she did not realized how severe the accident was
\nuntil she got out of her car and found it half destroyed.<\/p>\n
"The left part of my car was severely damaged and I realized I
\nwas fortunate to survive such a major crash. It was all because
\nof the seat belt I was wearing," she told a joint press
\nconference by the National Police and PT Honda Prospect Motor to
\npromote the use of seat belts.<\/p>\n
Olga is just one of thousands of Jakartans who is lucky to
\nhave survived a major road accident.<\/p>\n
Road safety awareness unit chief at National Police
\nHeadquarters Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Ishak said that judging by the
\noutcomes of traffic accidents these days, more people survived
\naccidents than in the past because they wore seat belts.<\/p>\n
"Around 80 percent of people now buckle up, while over 90
\npercent of Jakartans have seat belts in their cars. Analysis
\nshows that the majority of people who wear seat belts survive an
\naccident," he said.<\/p>\n
According to police data, 4,544 traffic accidents occurred in
\nJakarta in 2004, in which 1,146 people died and 2,632 were
\ninjured.<\/p>\n
"Most of them died because their heads hit the dashboard, the
\nwindscreen or the steering wheel. It shows the importance of seat
\nbelts," Sulistyo said.<\/p>\n
"We haven't got the details of traffic accidents this year,
\nbut the number of fatalities has decreased," he added.<\/p>\n
He said studies in countries like New Zealand, Germany, Japan
\nand Britain found that wearing seat belts reduced road fatalities
\nby around 40 percent.<\/p>\n
Sulistyo said that starting Nov. 5, all cars must have seat
\nbelts fitted in the front.<\/p>\n
"Back in 2002 we warned that owners of old cars would have to
\ninstall seat belts before the one-year awareness campaign ended
\nin November. We will ticket drivers of any vehicles -- buses,
\ntrucks, vans and sedans -- not wearing seat belts," he said.<\/p>\n
Law No. 14\/1992 on traffic stipulates that drivers and front-
\nseat passengers are required to wear seat belts. Violators can be
\nfined up to Rp 1 million (US$100) or be imprisoned for one month.<\/p>\n
Sulistyo said that since it had been mandatory from May 2003
\nfor new cars to be fitted with seat belts, people had begun to
\nrealize the importance of seat belts.<\/p>",
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