JP/3/KETUPAT
63 killed, 104 injured from March 1 to 20 in accidents
JAKARTA (JP): A total of 63 people were killed and 62 seriously injured in traffic accidents here within a three week time period that overlapped the recent Idul Fitri holidays.
There were also 42 others who suffered minor injuries in the series of accidents.
City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Latief Rabar said here over the weekend that the total financial losses caused by the accidents are estimated to reach Rp 59.6 million (US$27,850).
The figures were calculated during an operation code-named Operasi Ketupat Jaya (Operation Rice Cake) held from the period between March 1 and 20. This operation involved more than 10,000 police officers and hundreds of military personnel from the City Military Headquarters, as well as officials from the City Traffic and Land Transportation Control (DLLAJ) Office.
Operation Rice Cake was specially designed to help reduce crime and traffic accidents before, during and after the Idul Fitri celebrations to give peace of mind to the citizens of Jakarta.
"The worst accidents that took place during the operation were the crash of a minibus in Sunter, North Jakarta, on March 6 and an accident on the Cikampek highway in Bekasi on March 19," Latief said.
A Metromini minibus, heading from Sunter to Senen in Central Jakarta, careened into the Sunter river on Jl. Yos Sudarso leaving 33 passengers dead, 15 seriously injured and five others with minor injuries. The minibus, whose driver is still at large, was packed with passengers, most of whom planned to buy items for celebrating the Idul Fitri.
This's year Idul Fitri fell on March 14.
The toll road accident in Cikampek killed seven people including the driver and seriously injured three others after a travel agency van hit the wall of the Cikunir overpass. The minibus caught fire on impact.
The Cikampek tragedy is so far the worst recorded toll road accident for 1994.
According to the spokesman, most of the accidents that occurred in the city were caused by the poor discipline of the drivers in following traffic regulations and signs.
"Based on our on-the-spot observations, we found that most people felt that traffic accidents occurred because punishment against traffic violators was lenient, encouraging some to drive recklessly." Latief said.
The other factors leading to traffic accidents is the fact that some heavily traveled roads cannot accommodate the number of vehicles in the city, which as of yesterday has reached to a total of 2,411,626 units, consisting of 671,183 cars, 269,372 trucks, 275,073 buses and 1,195,998 motorcycles.
"Our data shows that the number of vehicles in the city increases by eight percent per year, while the size of road has remained constant at 6,799.5 kilometers since 1991," Latief said.
Therefore, Latief suggested that motorists be more aware of the existing traffic rules.(bsr)