Ministry of Transportation Ensures Openness to Vehicle Safety Technology
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Transportation (Kemenhub) has ensured its openness to the implementation of vehicle safety technology to enhance protection for road users and reduce accident rates in Indonesia, particularly for motorcycles.
Director of Road Transport Facilities and Safety at the Directorate General of Land Transportation, Kemenhub, Yusuf Nugroho, emphasised that the government supports the adoption of globally evolving safety technologies.
“The government is open to the implementation of safety technologies that are developing globally,” said Yusuf during a discussion titled ‘Deepening the Substance of the Safe Vehicle Pillar for Small Vehicles’ as per an official statement in Jakarta on Saturday.
According to Yusuf, the presence of safety features on vehicles plays an important role in mitigating human error, especially on motorcycles and small vehicles that dominate traffic.
He stressed that support for safety technology must be balanced with the ability to adapt to continuously changing technological developments.
“The essence is that the government supports all aspects of technology that support safe driving, but it must be adaptive to the technological developments used for safety,” he stated.
He assessed that strengthening these standards is important given that various studies show interventions in vehicle aspects can have a significant impact on safety.
Based on a study by the Centre for Testing, Measurement, Training, Observation, and Engineering Services at the University of Indonesia (POLAR UI), Yusuf continued, more stable braking systems have the potential to save up to 8,000 lives per year.
In several countries, including ASEAN regions and India, motorcycle safety technology has been implemented as a minimum standard, while in Indonesia it is still in the development stage although the urgency is increasingly high.
Meanwhile, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Road Safety Association (RSA) Indonesia, Rio Octaviano, stated that two to three people die on the roads every hour, the majority being motorcyclists, thus requiring serious immediate intervention.
He highlighted the irony of accidents that often occur when road conditions are considered safe, such as straight roads, clear weather, and good visibility, which instead increase drivers’ overconfidence.
Rio assessed that Indonesia already has a framework of five road safety pillars in the RUNK, but its implementation is not balanced, especially on the vehicle technology pillar which has not run optimally compared to education.
Therefore, strengthening the vehicle aspect is seen as an urgent need to reduce fatalities, not replacing other pillars, but complementing the safety system to protect road users more effectively.
He added that a systemic approach like in the aviation and rail sectors needs to be applied, so that every incident triggers a comprehensive evaluation, especially on two-wheeled vehicles which contribute greatly to mortality rates.
“At the global level, accidents are no longer just accidents, but road crashes that can be prevented. However, in Indonesia, they are still perceived as something unavoidable. Therefore, strengthening safe vehicles must be seen as an effort to protect, not burden,” said Rio.
Road safety practitioner from ASEAN NCAP, Adrianto Sugiarto, mentioned that 46 percent of accidents in Southeast Asia involve motorcycles, and with nearly 40 percent of the ASEAN population, Indonesia is the biggest contributor in the region.
“Changing the behaviour of hundreds of millions of people takes a long time. Meanwhile, lives continue to be lost on the roads every day. In this condition, technology becomes one of the relevant steps to reduce victim fatalities,” said Adrianto.