Road worthiness: No way!<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Transportation Office's plan to have all private
\nvehicles undergo periodic road worthiness tests starting next
\nyear has evoked strong reactions from the public, and has become
\none of the hottest issues of debate in this capital city,
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
The idea came from Ground Transportation director general
\nIskandar Abubakar.<\/p>\n
This must come as a surprise to those who know little or
\nnothing about Jakarta or Indonesia. For those who are familiar
\nwith the local conditions, however, especially those in this
\nmetropolis of more then 10 million people, this resistance is
\nquite understandable.<\/p>\n
Iskandar may not have meant to rock the boat with his ideas to
\nhave all private vehicles tested for road worthiness once every
\ntwo years. Nevertheless his idea has come as a jolt to the
\npublic, who allege that the government is just seeking a
\ndisguised way to collect money.<\/p>\n
Obligatory tests for road worthiness have actually been
\napplied for years on public transport and vehicles for commercial
\nuse, but not on private vehicles. Unfortunately, owners of public
\ntransportation companies in Jakarta have learned that road
\nworthiness tests have become a very lucrative illegal business
\nfor those officials in charge of conducting the tests at the
\nUjung Menteng station, which is the only vehicle test station in
\nJakarta.<\/p>\n
It is apparent that car owners prefer to bribe the officials
\nto get a clearance certificate stating that their cars can
\noperate on the city's roads. One of the most visible results of
\nthis has been that noisy, decrepit city buses belching black
\nsmoke from their exhaust systems are free to ply the city's roads
\nwithout traffic police officers taking any action against them.<\/p>\n
Another point is that law enforcers have never ticketed
\nvehicles, including motorcycles belonging to individuals, for
\nviolating regulations stipulated by Traffic and Ground
\nTransportation Law No. 14, which was issued in 1992. This law,
\nwhich drew controversy when it was being deliberated by the House
\nof Representative nine years ago, clearly says that those
\nviolating the tolerable emission limits are subject to two months
\nin jail or Rp 2 million in maximum fines.<\/p>\n
Article 54 of the Law says, among other things, that anyone
\noperating vehicles that are not worth operating is subject to a
\nthree-month jail sentence or a Rp 3 million fine. But the nine-
\nyear-old law has become a mere file on the shelves in government
\noffices.<\/p>\n
Traffic violations have become commonplace in the city, and
\npeople have learned that not one violator has been punished
\ndespite the existence of Law No. 14. This has obviously prompted
\nthe public to take a stand against the planned periodic vehicle
\ntest, which is dubbed nonsense.<\/p>\n
Another new controversial plan drawn up by the authorities is
\nthat all drivers of public transport vehicles must possess a
\ndriver's license of B type (for bus and similar type of vehicles)
\nbeginning 2004, or face punishment based on a law that is now
\nbeing prepared. A driver's license of the A type is now
\nappropriate for those operating minibuses.<\/p>\n
Many drivers see the plan as a mere project by the City
\nTransportation Office to devise a new source of income. They also
\nworry that the requirement will finally cause the officials in
\ncharge to take more bribes from drivers who apply for a new
\nlicense. The anxiety is understandable as many of them have
\nbribed the officials to get their drivers' licenses.<\/p>\n
The city authorities must have ignored the fact that holding
\nroad worthiness tests is not an easy job to carry out. It needs
\nsome technological requirements that involve appropriate
\nequipment. This means that skilled people are needed to conduct
\nthe tests. At least 1.2 million private cars and more than 2.3
\nmillion motorcycles are at present plying the city's roads. How
\ncould so many vehicles be serviced by just one testing station
\nmanned by people of questionable skill?<\/p>\n
Recent field observations made by several media show that
\nbribery is still rampant at the test station. Therefore, it is
\nsurprising to hear the statements made by the head of the City
\nTransportation Office, Rustam Effendy, that he has never seen
\nanything wrong during his impromptu visits to the station.<\/p>\n
If the city authorities are serious in their intention to
\nimplement the utopian plan to have all private vehicles tested
\nand to require drivers to hold a B-type license, then the
\nfollowing should be taken into consideration beforehand:
\n- while waiting for the implementation of the plan, the existing
\ntraffic law must be enforced to show the public that the
\ngovernment is serious in its efforts to create civilized traffic;
\n- the existing road worthiness test for public transport vehicles
\nmust be conducted in a fair and professional manner so as to stop
\nrampant bribery at the test station;
\n- more test stations must be established at all the five
\nmayoralties to make it possible for private vehicles to get
\nthorough tests as soon as possible;
\n- an internal \"clean up\" drive must be conducted consistently at
\nthe City Transportation Office so as to free the institution from
\nunscrupulous officials;
\n- and last but not least, better skilled and more professional
\npeople must be recruited to conduct the tests at the mayoralties.<\/p>\n
If the city authorities think they are not capable of meeting
\nthose conditions, we suggest that they be more realistic and
\nrational and abort or at least delay their irrational plan.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/road-worthiness-no-way-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}