Most drivers wearing seat belts, says Police
Most drivers wearing seat belts, says Police
Evi Mariani and Bambang Nurbianto, Jakarta
The first day of the enforcement of seat belt use in the capital
saw over 80 percent of motorists complying with the regulation,
according to Jakarta Police' reports.
Despite the positive response, traffic police still warned 235
violators during their operation in a number of areas in Greater
Jakarta, covering Jakarta, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi.
"I'm glad to see the high awareness of drivers. Based on
reports from on-duty officers today, more than 80 percent of
drivers were wearing seat belts," said the Jakarta Police traffic
division chief Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Ishak on Wednesday. "Even in
Pamulang, Tangerang, 80 percent of drivers also wore seat belts."
An traffic policeman at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle,
Brig. Mardiyanto, said he observed around 10 drivers flouting the
regulation in an hour.
The number of offenders was much lower compared to the first
day of the extended three-in-one traffic restriction on Jan. 26
with 780 violators.
Sulistyo admitted that enforcement was still lenient.
"Our target is not the number of tickets issued, but how to
raise motorists awareness of their own safety," he said.
Law No. 14/1992 on traffic stipulates that drivers and front
seat passengers of private cars and taxis are required to wear
seat belts. The law stipulates that violators will be fined a
maximum of Rp 1 million (US$115.6) or face one month in prison.
Six years after the endorsement of the law, the government
planned to make wearing seat belts mandatory, but people objected
to the plan.
The government launched a trial period to enforce the policy
on Nov. 5, 2003.
Owners of old vehicles, whose cars are not fitted with seat
belts, were given until Nov. 5, 2005 to install them.
Mardiyanto and other on-duty officers said they were only
ordered to reprimand violators but not to ticket them.
A similar statement came from Second Brig. Toto S., who was on
duty at Jl. K.S. Tubun intersection in Central Jakarta and Second
Brig. Joko Baruaji at Pancoran intersection in South Jakarta.
Mardiyanto said they were still waiting for instructions to
ticket violators.
Both Joko and Mardiyanto said only a few motorists were not
wearing them, arguing that they were not used to doing so.
The percentage of seat belt users in narrow streets or remote
areas would be lower, Sulistyo said.
The Jakarta Police traffic division law enforcement unit chief
Comr. Naufal Yahya said the police would study the effectiveness
of wearing seat belts in preventing fatalities on the road over a
three-month period.
He referred to studies in other countries like New Zealand,
Germany, Japan and England that revealed seat belts saved 40
percent of traffic accidents victims.
On Tuesday, police in Padang, West Sumatra, ticketed 769
drivers who were not wearing seat belts during a month-long
operation, Antara reported.
Offenders will be fined between Rp 20,000 and Rp 27,000, much
lower than the maximum fine of Rp 1 million.
In Bandung, West Java, the number of drivers wearing seat
belts increased although the police did not reveal detailed
figures. Despite Wednesday being the first day of its
implementation, police did not ticket any violators.
"Perhaps we will start ticketing offenders tomorrow (Thursday)
in a special operation," said Chief Brig. Murdaya, who was seen
on duty on Jl. Soekarno Hatta.
"Wearing seat belts shows drivers' awareness of their own
safety. It also demonstrates their discipline on the road," said
West Java Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Muryan Faisal Saladin.