Drivers told to respect law

Drivers told to respect law

Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta

The police have been told to get tough on traffic violators in an
effort to cut down on the number of accidents, many of which are
caused by drivers flouting traffic rules.

Theresia Kusumaningtyas, a psychologist at the University of
Indonesia, said on Thursday the inconsistent enforcement of
traffic regulations was responsible for the increasing number of
traffic accidents.

"Law enforcement, particularly punishment, will be very
significant in improving motorists' behavior and discipline on
the streets," she said during a seminar on road safety jointly
organized by the Pelangi Foundation and Persada Indonesia
University.

According to data from the National Police Headquarters, 91.31
percent of traffic accidents nationwide were caused by reckless
drivers. And 55.60 percent of those accidents involved motorists
between the ages of 16 and 30.

The Jakarta Police recorded 196 fatalities resulting from
traffic accidents in the first three months of this year, or over
65 deaths a month.

This represents a dramatic increase from the 40 traffic-
related deaths a month last year and the 31 deaths per month in
2002.

The police's inconsistent enforcement of traffic rules has
proven an obstacle to efforts to improve the road behavior of
motorists, according to Theresia.

"Motorists tend to violate traffic regulations because they
can easily compromise with police officers in solving any
problems arising from an accident," she said, referring to the
practice of bribing police officers rather than having to appear
in court.

A researcher at the Transportation Infrastructure Reacher
Center in Bandung, I Gede Wayan Samsi Gunarta, shared these
sentiments.

He cited a recent survey in Cirebon, West Java, which found
that 15 percent of traffic accident victims were pedestrians and
18 percent of the accidents occurred in crosswalks.

"It shows motorists not only violate traffic regulations but
also ignore road discipline. It is very embarrassing."

Wayan pointed to the fact that many young drivers frequently
exceeded the speed limit, as did public transportation drivers,
ignoring the safety of their fellow motorists.

"We call on public transportation drivers, who tend to speed
even though they are aware of the danger that poses to their
passengers, to slow down," he said.

The poor condition of the roads, traffic lights and traffic
signs also contribute to traffic accidents, he said.

"This is particularly due to the lack of coordination between
the concerned agencies."

The City Public Works Agency is responsible for road
construction and maintenance, while the City Transportation
Agency is responsible for the procurement and maintenance of
traffic signs and traffic lights. The two agencies often blame
each other whenever a problem occurs, he said.