Proposal to raise traffic fines gets mixed reactions

Proposal to raise traffic fines gets mixed reactions

JAKARTA (JP): The public had mixed reactions to the city
administration's plan to increase traffic fines by up to 100
percent starting this week.

Some motorists said that the increase would be too burdensome
while others supported the proposed hike, saying that it was
understandable given high number of traffic violations.

City councilors are throwing their weight behind the increase
in traffic fines, saying that the public should see it in
positive light because it will act as a deterrent against traffic
offenses.

"If motorists try to bribe policemen, they will still have to
pay more than they usually do now. With the enactment of the new
law, a policeman who receives bribes, if any of them do actually
engage in this practice, will demand a higher 'off-the-road
settlement fee', " Arie Putra Bintana, secretary of the City
Council's commission D on development, said.

Arie said that he was optimistic that there would be less
traffic violations because motorists would be more careful on the
streets in the future.

The proposed hike in traffic fines is part of a major plan
aimed at reducing accidents and violations.

Ismunandar, chairman of the Indonesian Democratic Party (PDI)
faction at the council, said that the new fines would make
motorists think twice before driving recklessly on the streets.

Under the new fine scale, which has been endorsed by police,
Jakarta High Prosecutor's Office and Jakarta High Court, drivers
of private cars and public buses can be fined between Rp 15,000
and Rp 50,000 compared to between Rp 10,000 and Rp 25,000 under
the present scale.

Jaywalkers and drivers ignoring traffic signs will be fined Rp
10,000 while motorists caught without a license will be fined
between Rp 25,000-150,000.

Several drivers of public transit vehicles told The Jakarta
Post that the new fines are too burdensome.

"How can I can afford Rp 15,000 just to pay a fine if my
income is only around that much? ," sighed Udin, a driver of 12-
seat Mikrolet minibus plying the Kebayoran Lama-Tanah Abang
route. He added that many times he was forced to break the law to
make extra money, taking passengers to unauthorized stops at
their request.

"This is very, very bad news," he said.

But city councilors disagreed with Udin, saying that the new
fines are within the reach of the drivers of public transit
vehicles.

Shortage

Some councilors, however, said that the new rulings would not
pay off if they were not coupled with the enhancement of human
resource management in the field.

Councilor Rusdi Saleh, from the Golkar-ruling party's faction
at the City Council, said police should deploy their personnel
evenly across the city -- especially at points notorious for
traffic jams.

"I often see traffic violations but no action is taken against
the motorists because there are no policemen at the scene, " he
added.

Councilor Aliwongso Halomoan Sinaga, also part of the
council's commission on transportation, warned policemen that
they should not try to take advantage of the new ruling by
demanding higher bribes from violators.

"The new rates are surely not meant to increase their income,
are they?" he asked.

Col. Soeroso, chief of the traffic directorate at the city
police headquarters, promised, yesterday, to sternly punish
officers discovered receiving bribes from motorists.

"If you see officers accepting bribes, please let me know and
produce evidence, such as photographs of the officers accepting
bribes or recordings of their requests for a pay-off," he said.

However, he also called on the motorists not to give bribes to
police in case police caught them committing traffic violations.

"The ongoing development programs include all sectors of life,
including the development of law," he said.

Soeroso said that police could not watch over all the streets
as they are supposed to because they lacked personnel.

According to police records, there are currently about 1,500
traffic police officers in the city, compared to 1,800 last year.
This is because some of them have retired due or moved to other
assignments as part of their job rotation. With the present
number, each traffic policeman is to oversee 1,176 cars and 3.7
kilometer-long street.

There are 2,961 intersections here, about 100 percent more
than the current traffic force can handle.

Zebra

Soeroso said police would also launch Operasi Zebra (Operation
Zebra), an annual traffic, police dragnet, some time in the near
future to mark the implementation of the 1992 traffic law and in
the run-up to the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
conference in November.

The traffic law was implemented on Sept. 17, 1993, after a
one-year delay, due to public protests over the high rate of
traffic fines.

Police will deploy 75 percent of the 1,500 officers at the
directorate of personnel during Operation Zebra. (jsk/arf)