Seat belt ruling to be enforced gradually<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A seat belt regulation scheduled to take effect
\nSept. 17 will only be imposed on sedans and jeeps produced in or
\nafter 1984, Herman Latif, chairman of the vehicle road worthiness
\ncommittee, said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Owners of other vehicles, including the city's public
\ntransportation fleet, produced in or after 1994 will be given a
\nfive-year grace period to install the safety devices.<\/p>\n
Vehicles not falling under the above categories will be ruled
\nupon later this week by the Ministry of Communication.<\/p>\n
"The decision to prioritize sedans and jeeps is taken in line
\nwith the results of our research that these kinds of vehicles
\nhave been equipped with seat belts from their factories.<\/p>\n
"Moreover, the cars ... are mostly imported from countries
\nwhich impose strict seat belt regulations," said Herman, who is
\nalso chairman of the Association of Indonesian Automotive
\nIndustries (Gaikindo).<\/p>\n
The seat belt regulation is stipulated in a six-year-old law
\non traffic and transportation.<\/p>\n
According to Article 23 of the controversial law, motorists
\nfailing to wear their seat belts face a maximum sentence of one
\nmonth in jail or a Rp 1 million (US$86) fine.<\/p>\n
The rule comes into effect on Sept. 17, as stipulated in
\nGovernment Regulation No. 43\/1993.<\/p>\n
The National Police's head of traffic law enforcement, Col.
\nDeda Suwandi, said that sedan and jeep owners would not
\nautomatically be ticketed if they were found not using their seat
\nbelts after Sept. 17.<\/p>\n
"For the first three months, we will concentrate more on
\ndisseminating information about the new ruling.<\/p>\n
"Starting from January next year, motorists will be asked to
\nabide by the ruling," he said.<\/p>\n
Deda said that during the three-month grace period, police
\nwould give a maximum of three warnings to violators.<\/p>\n
"We will jot down the names of violators and cross-check the
\ndata later.<\/p>\n
"Those found breaking the rule more than three times will face
\nlegal sanctions," he said.<\/p>\n
"I admit that we (police) have a difficult job in enforcing
\nthe regulation because we operate in a manual way. For instance,
\nwe have to stop cars to check whether the vehicles are already
\nequipped with the belts.<\/p>\n
"We realize it will take time to check, thereby affecting
\ntraffic flow. But what else can we do?"<\/p>\n
When asked if there would be certain areas where police would
\nstop and check vehicles, Deda said that it was all being
\ndiscussed.<\/p>\n
"We will probably check vehicles along roads which are not too
\nbusy," he said.<\/p>\n
"We will remind motorists whose seat belts are not properly
\ninstalled because it is obviously dangerous for them to wear."
\n(ind\/edt)<\/p>",
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