Safety audit urgent to reduce vehicular accidents: Police
Safety audit urgent to reduce vehicular accidents: Police
Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
One recent afternoon after heavy downpour in the capital, Yopi,
27, was traveling along the road in Pesing, West Jakarta, on his
way to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Cengkareng when
his motorcycle hit a deep water-filled pothole.
"I was lucky, thank God, the accident did not do me much harm,
I could stand again immediately, I rode the motorcycle again." he
recalled.
Motorists in Jakarta have grown accustomed to obstacles caused
by careless roadwork, such as potholes.
Hasrul Darmawan, a motorist, said that there was more to worry
about than badly repaired roads. Sometimes, he said, the street
lights were not bright enough.
Poor infrastructure is one of three factors behind road
accidents, besides the condition of the vehicles involved and the
individual drivers, said the head of the Jakarta Police Traffic
Law Enforcement Division, Comr. Naufal Yahya.
"Therefore, an appraisal of the safety of the city's roads is
urgently needed," he said on Tuesday, adding that safety audits
conducted in several countries had succeeded in reducing road
accidents by 30 percent.
"Currently, the Ministry of Communications is rectifying the
current traffic law. I expect that it will keep in mind the
necessity of a road-safety audit," Naufal added.
For the first time, the issue of road safety will be
highlighted by the United Nations on World Health Day which falls
Wednesday. Under the theme "Road safety is no accident", the UN
along with the World Bank published a report which details the
human and economic costs of road accidents, and sets out
guidelines for preventing them.
In his speech, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that
nearly 1.2 million people around the globe were killed each year
in road accidents, which the media paid little attention to. He
said that about 90 percent of road accidents occurred in
developing countries.
"Between 20 and 50 million more people are seriously injured
in such incidents every year, often resulting in disability ...
more than half of the victims are between the ages of 15 and 44.
Road traffic injuries cost nations as much as 2 percent of their
gross national income," he said.
The Jakarta Police recorded that within the first three months
of the year, 196 people were killed in traffic accidents in the
city, or over 65 deaths a month.
The rate was alarming compared to an average of 40 road-
related deaths for each month of last year and an average of 31
deaths from road accidents monthly in 2002.
City Police Traffic Division chief Sr. Comr. Sulistyo Ishak
previously said that road accidents were largely caused by a lack
of discipline among motorists and pedestrians. He also said that
most of the victims were motorcyclists.
Naufal, who recently obtained his masters degree after
studying transportation at Leeds University in Britain,
substantiated his superior's comment, saying that the most
effective way to amend the lack of road discipline was to educate
children.
"We often visit schools to foster traffic rules and safe
behavior in young people, but I think this knowledge should be
included in the school curriculum." he said
Road accidents from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2004
Accidents 753
Fatalities 196
Seriously injured 399
Slightly injured 299
Material losses Rp 2.1 billion
Road accidents in 2003
Accidents 1,288
Fatalities 482
Seriously injured 660
Sightly injured 601
Material losses Rp 4.29 billion
Source: Jakarta Police