Hamzah says he'll stick to the (road) rules

Hamzah says he'll stick to the (road) rules

Following the public furor after his convoy occupied the busway
lane to escape traffic congestion on Monday, Vice President
Hamzah Haz has decided to observe the existing traffic rules.

"I don't need other government officials reminding me of the
regulations. From this day on, (my official motorcade) will stop
at every red traffic light," he said after attending a Cabinet
meeting on Wednesday.

Hamzah was referring to Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso's remark
over the incident, in which he said that use of the dedicated
lane was a violation and that a high-ranking state official
should have set a better example.

Hamzah was not the first state official to break traffic
rules. Back in the 1980s, then minister/state secretary
Sudharmono dispensed with the privilege but police tricked him by
switching the lights to green along the routes he took.

Article 34 of Government Regulation No. 43/1993 on traffic and
infrastructure entitles the police to stop traffic, while Article
65 of the same regulation states that road users must give
priority -- in order of urgency -- to fire trucks, ambulances,
traffic patrol vehicles, vehicles of the head of state or state
visitors, hearses, convoys, parades, vehicles of people with
disabilities or vehicles designed to transport specified loads.
-- JP