One killed in illegal drag race

Tony Hotland, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Amid the police ban on drag races due to safety concerns, the combination of extreme speed and gambling highs took its toll in the wee hours on Saturday.

Ahmad Faisal, 20, died instantly after the motorcycle he was riding hit the curb in front of the Jakarta Fairground in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, one of the regular drag racing "tracks" in the city.

Ahmad, a resident of Bekasi Barat, was racing with his friends within the vicinity of the Jakarta Fairground.

He apparently lost control of his motorcycle and hit the curb just as two policemen were driving towards them to stop the racers. Faisal died at the scene.

Last week, 21-year-old Dwi Karno broke his ankle when he hit a police patrol car on Jl. Benyamin Sueb, Kemayoran, which was trying to disperse a drag race.

City Police traffic chief Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Ishak recently said police had been intensifying their watch on several locations where such races regularly took place.

He said police had identified 13 such locations in the city and had deployed more personnel to stake out the spots after midnight, especially on weekends.

The locations include Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, Jl. Arteri Pondok Indah, Jl. Casablanca and Jl. T..B Simatupang, all in South Jakarta, and Jl. Puri Kembangan, West Jakarta.

The drag racers are in violation of the 1992 Traffic Law for using the road for purposes outside of regulations. If convicted, a drag racer may face a maximum sentence of up to one month in jail or Rp 1 million (US$117.65) in fine.

However, such cases are hardly ever brought to court because patrolling police tend only to disperse the drag racers and spectators.