Road fatalities on the rise

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.