Traffic Accidents are Preventable, Driving Safety Culture Requires Involvement from Various Parties
Driving safety remains an issue often underestimated by the public, despite the high usage of motorcycles as a primary mode of daily transport. The risk of accidents remains significant, particularly as rider behaviour is a decisive factor in road safety.
The Indonesian National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas Polri) noted that motorcycles dominate the vehicles involved in traffic accidents. In 2024, over 200,000 motorcycles were involved in accidents. Furthermore, there were more than 152,000 traffic accidents throughout 2024, with fatalities reaching over 27,000 people. This means that, on average, there is a fatality due to a traffic accident almost every hour.
This risk is particularly relevant to the productive age group. The same data shows that the 6–25 age group (students) accounts for the highest proportion of accidents at 39.48%, slightly above the 25–55 productive age group at 39.26%.
Consequently, building safe driving habits must begin at an early age. Safety education needs to be delivered through approaches that resonate with the daily lives of the younger generation, ensuring that the message does not remain mere knowledge but is actively applied while riding on the road.
The Head of the Community Education Section, Sub-directorate of Security and Safety, Ditlantas Polda Metro Jaya, Sri Indira Purnamawati, stated that traffic accidents are often preceded by risky behaviours that are actually preventable.
“For example, we must wear helmets. Some feel it is not ‘cool’ to wear a helmet because it is cumbersome or too close to the head, or they feel an accident will not happen. Yet, an accident eventually occurs,” said Sri Indira during the Safety Riding Short Movie Contest 2026 event in Jakarta, as quoted from her statement on Thursday, 10 September 2026.
According to her, wearing helmets, complying with traffic regulations, and avoiding behaviours such as speeding and using mobile phones while driving are essential components of road safety.
Law enforcement, Sri Indira continued, must go hand-in-hand with massive and sustainable education. In doing so, safety awareness can evolve into a permanent driving habit.
Efforts to build a driving safety culture are also being undertaken by the Astra Honda Motor Foundation (Yayasan AHM) through a Safety Riding campaign titled “Stay Alive for The Next Chapter,” in collaboration with Katadata.