Seat belts<\/p>\n
From Bisnis Indonesia<\/p>\n
As from mid-September the wearing of seat belts will be
\ncompulsory. Noncompliance of the regulation will be subject to
\nimprisonment or a Rp 1 million fine.<\/p>\n
The intention of the regulation is the safety of motorists.
\nBut it does not seem to be the proper time to implement the
\nregulation in this period of monetary crisis.<\/p>\n
Even without seat belts, a motorist would think a thousand
\ntimes before driving recklessly because any collision would
\nresult in the emptying of his wallet due to the sky-high prices
\nof automotive parts.<\/p>\n
When the regulation was devised, surely nobody thought that in
\nSeptember 1998 the country would be in the midst of a deep
\neconomic crisis.<\/p>\n
The price of seat belts was already very high before the
\nmonetary crisis. It must have increased in the meantime. Even the
\nsimplest set of seat belts probably costs hundreds of thousands
\nof rupiah.<\/p>\n
Not all car owners are rich. In the current period of crisis
\n-- with layoffs everywhere -- many vehicles owned generally by
\nthe common people are being used as rental cars, which means an
\nadditional source of income.<\/p>\n
The extra income cannot be used to buy seat belts because it
\nis not even sufficient to buy rice and other basic foodstuffs.<\/p>\n
The government should show its wisdom and review the
\nregulation on the compulsory use of seat belts.<\/p>\n
MARIA KEJORA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/seat-belts-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }