Joint operation set up to check trailer trucks
Joint operation set up to check trailer trucks
JAKARTA (JP): The Jakarta city police in cooperation with
military and municipal authorities have started an operation
aimed at inspecting trailer trucks for roadworthiness.
The campaign, which was launched on Friday, is part of the on
going effort to fully implement the controversial 1992 traffic
law.
City police chief Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto said the
operation, code named Operasi Timas I/1994, was the first to be
held on a national scale since the new law was implemented in
September 1993.
The formalities to mark the launching of the operation in
Jakarta on Friday were attended by top ranking officials of the
Jakarta Land and Transportation Control Agency (DLLAJ) and the
Jakarta office of the transportation ministry as well as from the
Jakarta metropolitan police.
About 150 officers representing the city police, DLLAJ, and
the military will be deployed to oversee the operation.
In his speech, which was read by the chief of the traffic
directorate at the city police headquarters, Col. Soeroso,
Hindarto said that although negligible in number -- they comprise
only 0.4 percent of all motorized vehicles plying the city's
roads -- trailer trucks play an important part in backing up the
country's economic development.
However, many trailer trucks fail to meet the basic
roadworthiness standard so they are prone to break-downs, which
cause traffic jams and raise the possibility of accidents.
Police records reveal there are 142 trailer truck operators in
this city with a combined fleet of 2,177 trucks. Only 1,422 of
that total reportedly meet the requirements set by a 1990
transportation ministry decree for trailer trucks.
"That is the reason we are conducting this operation," the
two-star general said.
Three stages
Soeroso said that due to tight competition among trailer truck
companies many of them have illegally modified their vehicles to
save money.
"Some even use worn heads or tractor heads taken from common
trucks, which are incapable of hauling containers. As a result,
they often stall on the road, creating traffic jams, or they are
hit by other vehicles from behind because they move too slowly,"
said Soeroso.
According to Soeroso, the operation will be staged in three
phases.
In the first phase, which will last 21 days, trailer trucks
which fail to meet the requirements of the 1990 regulation will
be served written reprimands.
It will be followed by a 60-day break to give the trailer
truck companies time to legally equip their vehicles.
After the grace period, the operation will resume for another
21 days during which officers will ticket any trailer trucks
which fail to meet the requirements.
Aip Syarifuddin, chief of the Organda land transportation
organization said that Organda fully supports the operation.
(jsk)