Road worthiness: No way!
Road worthiness: No way!
The Jakarta Transportation Office's plan to have all private
vehicles undergo periodic road worthiness tests starting next
year has evoked strong reactions from the public, and has become
one of the hottest issues of debate in this capital city,
Jakarta.
The idea came from Ground Transportation director general
Iskandar Abubakar.
This must come as a surprise to those who know little or
nothing about Jakarta or Indonesia. For those who are familiar
with the local conditions, however, especially those in this
metropolis of more then 10 million people, this resistance is
quite understandable.
Iskandar may not have meant to rock the boat with his ideas to
have all private vehicles tested for road worthiness once every
two years. Nevertheless his idea has come as a jolt to the
public, who allege that the government is just seeking a
disguised way to collect money.
Obligatory tests for road worthiness have actually been
applied for years on public transport and vehicles for commercial
use, but not on private vehicles. Unfortunately, owners of public
transportation companies in Jakarta have learned that road
worthiness tests have become a very lucrative illegal business
for those officials in charge of conducting the tests at the
Ujung Menteng station, which is the only vehicle test station in
Jakarta.
It is apparent that car owners prefer to bribe the officials
to get a clearance certificate stating that their cars can
operate on the city's roads. One of the most visible results of
this has been that noisy, decrepit city buses belching black
smoke from their exhaust systems are free to ply the city's roads
without traffic police officers taking any action against them.
Another point is that law enforcers have never ticketed
vehicles, including motorcycles belonging to individuals, for
violating regulations stipulated by Traffic and Ground
Transportation Law No. 14, which was issued in 1992. This law,
which drew controversy when it was being deliberated by the House
of Representative nine years ago, clearly says that those
violating the tolerable emission limits are subject to two months
in jail or Rp 2 million in maximum fines.
Article 54 of the Law says, among other things, that anyone
operating vehicles that are not worth operating is subject to a
three-month jail sentence or a Rp 3 million fine. But the nine-
year-old law has become a mere file on the shelves in government
offices.
Traffic violations have become commonplace in the city, and
people have learned that not one violator has been punished
despite the existence of Law No. 14. This has obviously prompted
the public to take a stand against the planned periodic vehicle
test, which is dubbed nonsense.
Another new controversial plan drawn up by the authorities is
that all drivers of public transport vehicles must possess a
driver's license of B type (for bus and similar type of vehicles)
beginning 2004, or face punishment based on a law that is now
being prepared. A driver's license of the A type is now
appropriate for those operating minibuses.
Many drivers see the plan as a mere project by the City
Transportation Office to devise a new source of income. They also
worry that the requirement will finally cause the officials in
charge to take more bribes from drivers who apply for a new
license. The anxiety is understandable as many of them have
bribed the officials to get their drivers' licenses.
The city authorities must have ignored the fact that holding
road worthiness tests is not an easy job to carry out. It needs
some technological requirements that involve appropriate
equipment. This means that skilled people are needed to conduct
the tests. At least 1.2 million private cars and more than 2.3
million motorcycles are at present plying the city's roads. How
could so many vehicles be serviced by just one testing station
manned by people of questionable skill?
Recent field observations made by several media show that
bribery is still rampant at the test station. Therefore, it is
surprising to hear the statements made by the head of the City
Transportation Office, Rustam Effendy, that he has never seen
anything wrong during his impromptu visits to the station.
If the city authorities are serious in their intention to
implement the utopian plan to have all private vehicles tested
and to require drivers to hold a B-type license, then the
following should be taken into consideration beforehand:
- while waiting for the implementation of the plan, the existing
traffic law must be enforced to show the public that the
government is serious in its efforts to create civilized traffic;
- the existing road worthiness test for public transport vehicles
must be conducted in a fair and professional manner so as to stop
rampant bribery at the test station;
- more test stations must be established at all the five
mayoralties to make it possible for private vehicles to get
thorough tests as soon as possible;
- an internal "clean up" drive must be conducted consistently at
the City Transportation Office so as to free the institution from
unscrupulous officials;
- and last but not least, better skilled and more professional
people must be recruited to conduct the tests at the mayoralties.
If the city authorities think they are not capable of meeting
those conditions, we suggest that they be more realistic and
rational and abort or at least delay their irrational plan.