Health Minister Appreciates Decline in Mudik Traffic Accident Cases in 2026

Semarang, Central Java - Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin has expressed appreciation for the decline in the number of traffic accident cases during this year’s 2026 mudik flow. “Alhamdulillah, thank you to the Coordinating Minister, the National Police Chief; traffic accident incidents have dropped drastically this year from the mudik process,” he said at the Kalikangkung Toll Gate, Semarang, Central Java, on Tuesday. He also advised the public to rest every three hours if undertaking long journeys. “Because drowsy and fatigued drivers are a cause of accidents and one of the major health and safety problems,” he stated. Furthermore, he noted that accident incidents frequently occur among motorcyclists, so accident cases do not only happen on toll roads but also on arterial roads. He also appreciated Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) for providing train carriages to transport motorcycles along with passengers. “Earlier, we saw one carriage can accommodate 200 motorcycles, so this also reduces the possibility of motorcycle accidents due to fatigue and the density on arterial roads,” he said. Previously, the Head of the National Police Traffic Corps, Inspector General of Police Agus Suryonugroho, stated that up to the ninth day of Operation Ketupat 2026 or Saturday (21/3), the decline in fatality rates of deaths was 27 percent, and the decline in accident numbers was around 3.5 percent compared to the same period in Operation Ketupat 2025. On Tuesday, National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, along with Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, Minister of Transportation Dudy Purwagandhi, and Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, opened the one-way route or one-way return flow for Eid 2026 starting from the Kalikangkung Toll Gate. The National Police Chief said that the one-way system is implemented from KM 414 Kalikangkung Toll Gate Semarang to KM 70 Cikampek Utama Toll Gate. After the Cikampek Utama Toll Gate, he continued, traffic engineering will be carried out to prevent congestion towards Jakarta.