Road fatalities on the rise

BANDA ACEH, Aceh: Aceh Police chief Col. Mohammad Rodja said 161 people had died in traffic accidents in the province in the first five months of this year.

"The number of deaths from traffic accidents in the province of 3.9 million people has gone up by about 23 percent compared to the same period last year which only saw 124 deaths," he said as quoted by Antara here yesterday.

He lamented the lack of public discipline which he said was the main cause of road accidents.

"We see it every day with people disregarding traffic rules," he remarked.

Apart from deaths, the number of serious injuries as a result of traffic accidents for this period has risen from 156 to 198, and the overall number of accidents has gone up by about 22 percent.

One unexpected element which might be contributing to the high number of accidents is the proximity of homes in the province to the road.

"This is flirting with danger and indirectly contributes to the number of road accidents," Mohammad said.