Road Safety Should Not Be a Concern Only During the Eid Exodus Season

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Every year, when the Eid exodus season arrives, the safety of travellers always becomes the government’s primary concern. However, once the exodus flow ends, attention to road safety often fades, and safety policies once again become neglected issues. “Every year, as the pre-Eid exodus approaches, the government, through various ministries and agencies, coordinates with each other, with officials standing tall in front of cameras to convey plans for mitigation. All of this seems to demonstrate seriousness in addressing this major problem,” said Rio in an official statement on Tuesday (24/3/2026). Rio questioned why safety policies do not run consistently throughout the year, or at least why the same level of attention is not given every day, every second on Indonesia’s roads. “The Safe System Approach is not something that can be implemented only during Eid. This is an approach that must be applied throughout the year, with a consistent and integrated system,” he said. According to Rio, traffic accident data from 2023 shows a very worrying reality. In one year, there were 158,508 accident incidents, with 24,296 fatalities and a total of 238,878 affected victims. Scaled to time, nearly three people die every hour, or one life is lost every 20 minutes on Indonesia’s roads. According to Rio, the data also shows that accidents occur on roads that should be safe. “This finding shatters the old assumption that accidents are mainly caused by damaged roads or bad weather conditions,” said Rio. “On the contrary, the data shows that accidents are more common under normal conditions, when the system should be able to provide optimal protection,” he stated.