Dominated by Productive Age Group, Traffic Accidents Become a Serious Alarm

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Road traffic accidents continue to be one of the largest contributors to fatality rates in Indonesia. Alarmingly, the high risk is dominated by the young age group.

Based on data from Korlantas Polri and PT Jasa Raharja, the number of fatalities from accidents has exceeded 100 lives per day. As many as 75 percent of them are dominated by motorbike users.

“These accidents specifically target those in their productive phase, from students to workers, with the majority age range between 11 and 55 years or more than 70 percent,” said Academician from the Civil Engineering Study Programme at Unika Soegijapranata and Advisory Board Member of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI) Djoko Setijowarno in his statement on Monday (11/5/2026).

According to him, although there is a downward trend in fatalities of around 8 percent during the 2026 homecoming period compared to the previous year, the profile of the victims remains the same, namely dominated by males in the productive age.

“If dissected further, 61 percent of accidents are actually triggered by human factors, either due to lack of ability or risky driver character,” he said.

“This data serves as an alarm that safety improvements cannot be limited to just repairing roads or checking engines, but must also touch the fundamental side, namely the discipline and competence of the users,” said Djoko.