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.