Java coast road claims 252 lives in 12 months

Java coast road claims 252 lives in 12 months

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Cirebon, West Java

Road accidents along West Java's north coast road has claimed at
least 252 lives in 221 accidents that also left 296 others with
severe and slight injuries during the period from July 2002 to
June 2003, an officer said.

Cirebon Police chief Sr. Comr. Sunaryono said in his address
at the commemoration of the 57th anniversary of the National
Police in this West Java coastal city on Tuesday that the traffic
accidents also cost Rp 1 billion (US$121,337) in material losses.

"On average, 19 accidents took place every month, killing 21
people and injuring 25 others. The monthly material losses were
Rp 83 million," Sunaryono said.

The accidents were due to motor vehicle and road conditions as
well as human error, he said, "but human error was the cause of
the greater part of the accidents."

He also said that the presence of many street vendors along
main roads also contributed to the accidents.

The vendors, particularly on the eve of religious holidays,
pack roadsides along the route from the Central Java-West Java
border area of Losari to the Patrol zone in Indramayu regency
leading to Jakarta.

"In the Cirebon area, vendors cause congestion in dozens of
locations, which considerably hampers traffic flow and becomes a
potential cause of accidents," Sunaryono added.

The police have strived to overcome the classic problem of
roadside sellers in coordination with the regional administration
but they have not found a comprehensive solution in view of the
socioeconomic roots of the phenomenon.

"Owing to the socioeconomic factor involved, we have only been
able to reduce traffic jams by assigning personnel to regulate
traffic flow at vulnerable spots along the route," he said.

With regard to criminal cases, the Cirebon Police chief
indicated that motor vehicle theft and robbery had always been
dominant while drug trafficking, though prominent, had recorded
the lowest number of cases.

Against the corresponding period last year, the number of
criminal cases in Cirebon decreased significantly from 1,233 to
1,081, with the rate of case settlement rising from only 57
percent to almost 70 percent.

Attributing the high criminal rate in the area to the
temperamental character of the people of Cirebon, Sunaryono said
that police patrols and covert operations were being intensified,
besides inviting public participation in controlling the crime
rate.