Jakarta to regulate tinted car windows

Jakarta to regulate tinted car windows

Damar Harsanto and Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The high number of violations during the extended three-in-one
traffic policy on its first day of implementation has prompted
the Jakarta Transportation Agency to call on private car owners
not to put tinted films on the windows of their vehicles.

"There is a limit to the opacity of tinted films, which is 60
percent," agency head Rustam Effendy said on Tuesday.

However, Rustam was not certain whether the limit was already
included in City Bylaw No. 12/2003 on traffic.

"If it is not yet there, the city administration will amend it
and include this particular point in the bylaw," he said.

Government Regulation No. 44/1993, Article 82(3) on vehicles
and drivers stipulates that car windows can be fitted with a
tinted film of limited opacity.

Rustam said agency officials had reported that some motorists
had been putting on darker tinted films in order to trick police
officers at check-points in the restricted zone from Blok M,
South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta. The policy was set up to
support the capital's busway, which aims to encourage motorists
to switch from private cars to busway buses.

At the ASEAN Secretariat intersection in South Jakarta,
officers were observed asking passing private cars to slow down
and open their windows so they could check that each vehicle
carried at least three passengers.

Aside from the 780 violations during the three-in-one recorded
on Monday by the Jakarta Police, the transportation agency
recorded an additional 312 violations, totaling 1,092 violations.

On Tuesday, police ticketed 870 motorists for three-in-one
violations.

Trucks traveling through the restricted zone were also seen
along Jl. Gajah Mada and Jl. Hayam Wuruk with three passengers as
required by the policy.

A truck driver said they had to take another passenger because
they could not find alternative routes running parallel to the
corridor to reach their destination.

Traffic from Harmoni intersection to Kota railway station was
less crowded on Tuesday, compared to Monday.

However, the situation changed drastically after 10 a.m. as
private cars started to pack into these areas and cause
congestion, particularly at Harmoni intersection, Glodok Plaza
and Kota intersection.

Bumper-to-bumper traffic was also seen around the Pemuda
Statue (also known as "The Pizza Man" and "Hot Hands Harry")
traffic circle and the Semanggi cloverleaf.