House seeks honest crash probe

House seeks honest crash probe

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Several House of Representatives members urged the government and
the police on Friday to disclose the procedure for halting
traffic on toll roads for VVIPs to the public, in order to make
the investigation of a fatal accident on Wednesday more
transparent.

"To cease the possibly wrong assumption of the public on this
matter, I think the police, or the government, should inform the
public of the procedure for halting traffic on toll roads," said
legislator from the National Mandate Party (PAN) Alvin Lie.

Lie, along with politicians Miranti Abidin, also from PAN, and
Hafidz Zamawi of the Golkar Party, attempted to visit two
suspects who had been detained at Jakarta Police Headquarters.

"It is an informal visit. As a representative of the people, I
feel the need to fulfill the call to show solidarity with
ordinary people who become victims," he said, refusing to call
the drivers accused of responsibility for the accident suspects.

"There is something fishy in the investigation," he added.

The police denied the legislators access to the detention
center as head of the Jakarta Traffic Police Sr. Comr. Djoko
Susilo, was in Bogor for a family gathering.

The pileup on Wednesday morning, on Km 13 of Jagorawi toll
road in East Jakarta, occurred after highway patrol officers
halted traffic on the road to allow President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono's entourage to pass through.

A stationary chartered public minivan, packed with eight
adults and five children on their way to Ragunan Zoo, was crushed
after being hit by a pickup truck, a Kijang minivan and a bus.

Four passengers of the chartered minivan and the driver of the
pickup truck died in the accident, while the assistant of the
pickup truck driver died later in hospital.

The following day, the police named the dead driver of the
pickup truck, the driver of the Kijang and the driver of the bus
suspects.

None of the police officers questioned were able to produce a
detailed and documented procedure for halting traffic on toll
roads. They insisted that the officers on duty had done their
jobs according to the procedure, by stopping passing vehicles at
least three kilometers or 10 minutes before the President's
entourage passed.

So far, according to Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr.
Tjiptono, the Jakarta Traffic Police have questioned 17
witnesses, including two police officers who halted the toll road
traffic on Wednesday.

Traffic regulations

Article 34 of Government Regulation No. 43/1993 on road
infrastructure and road traffic:

* In certain situations, the police can, among other things, halt
traffic or other road users, hasten traffic or slow traffic,
despite traffic signs.

* The related ministry must arrive at the procedure after
consultation with the National Police.

Government Regulation No. 40/2001 on toll roads:

Article 3: Toll roads must not be obstructed

Article 4: The minimum speed of vehicles on toll roads is 80
kilometers per hour for inter-city toll roads, and 60 kilometers
per hour for city toll roads.

Article 27:

* Toll road management can halt the traffic only in an emergency.

* Such emergency situations are accidents, fires, or other force
majeure that make it impossible for vehicles to travel on the
road safely.

* Should such an emergency occur, making it necessary for the
management to close the road temporarily, it should report to the
related ministry, the governor, and the National Police.