Government Urged to Increase Road Safety Budget

JAKARTA - Traffic accidents not only cause loss of life but also have a significant impact on the economy and productivity, particularly in developing countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018 noted that traffic accidents are one of the main causes of lost productivity and increased economic burden. In Indonesia, the impact is evident. Based on 2025 data from the National Traffic Police Corps (Korlantas Polri) processed by the Road Safety Association (RSA), there were 158,508 traffic accidents recorded. From this number, 24,296 people died, 19,311 suffered serious injuries, and 195,271 had minor injuries. However, when calculated comprehensively, including funeral costs, medical treatment, and lost productivity, the total economic burden from traffic accidents is estimated by RSA to exceed Rp 3 trillion per year. Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Road Safety Association (RSA) Indonesia, Rio Octaviano, said this situation must be a serious concern for the government. “RSA assesses that investment in road safety is a strategic step that can reduce fatality rates while alleviating the country’s economic burden,” he said in an official statement on Thursday (26/3/2026). “Budget strengthening needs to be focused on improving road infrastructure oriented towards safety, implementing vehicle safety standards, particularly for motorcycles that dominate more than 212,000 vehicles in accidents, enhancing emergency services and trauma centres, as well as strengthening data systems and technology-based monitoring,” he said. According to Rio, the safe system approach as mandated in Presidential Regulation No. 1 of 2020 must be implemented consistently and integrally across sectors. “Without systemic intervention, Indonesia will continue to face a recurring cycle of high death rates, trillions of rupiah in economic losses, and increasing social vulnerability for the community,” he stated. “RSA emphasises that road safety is an investment to protect lives and maintain national economic stability. With the right policy and budget support, fatality rates can be significantly reduced,” he said. Rio mentioned that the total economic burden of traffic accidents in Indonesia is estimated to exceed Rp 3 trillion per year based on international practices for calculating the economic impact of accidents from the World Bank in 2017 and OECD in 2015. Beyond that, traffic accidents also cause the loss of around 2.8 million working days or more than 22 million working hours. If converted to economic value, the potential loss of production amounts to approximately Rp 1.8 trillion.