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.