Traffic situation
The traffic situation in Jakarta is receiving a lot of attention. Much has been written about unruly bus drivers. Nothing will change unless public transport fares are raised to a level that allows bus crews to earn a decent living without having to race against each other and crowd as many people as possible on their buses.
The closed door rule is only adhered to in a very limited way. Many buses still drive around with doors open and quite often they are so packed that the door simply cannot be closed!
Though it is probably right to conclude that bus drivers are among the worst traffic offenders, part of the blame lies with the bus commuters. Discipline is lacking. People get on and off buses in slow moving traffic, at traffic lights etc. This is difficult to control by bus crews. Commuters should be educated to enter and alight only at designated bus stops. The problem is that a great deal of the city's bus stops cannot accommodate the number of buses servicing them. The stops in front of Police Headquarters and the Holiday Inn, which is under construction are two good examples.
It is also interesting to observe how off duty policemen behave the same as the general public and rush to enter buses which haven't even reached the bus stop yet. Policemen -- even off duty -- should be correct in their behavior. Quite regularly one can see on Jl. Gatot Subroto, towards the junction with Jl. Kuningan, motorcyclists using the pavement. The pavement is for pedestrians, not for motorcycles.
The lack of discipline, impatience and non adherence to traffic rules by city commuters is another main contribution to the traffic chaos in Jakarta. Traffic rules and signs are quite often ignored. Seeing four or five cars, one after the other, beat a red light is quite normal. Blocking junctions is more the rule than the exception. No parking and no stopping signs are often ignored.
Driving on a highway is quite different from driving on city roads -- the speed alone is different! -- and a lot of drivers don't seem to realize that.
Many drivers stay in the right lane, sometimes even at low speeds and this makes other drivers overtake on the left sides. This is dangerous as well as being a traffic offense. The right lane only is for overtaking!
On the toll road from Cawang to Tomang, there are signs telling trucks to stay in the left lane and not overtake and signs telling motorists not to use the road shoulder. These signs are quite often ignored. Many trucks use the right lane and stay there. Every morning and afternoon this three-lane toll road effectively becomes a four-lane toll road!
The traffic patrols should be seen taking stern action against these offenders and a TV campaign shown on all channels, to inform drivers how to drive on toll roads/highways. One solution for three-lane toll roads might be to make buses and trucks use the left and middle lanes only.
Buses and trucks should not be allowed to go faster than 80 kilometers per hour on toll-roads and 70 kilometers on non toll- roads outside cities and villages. Perhaps speed control devices should be mandatory installed in all trucks and buses to help stop the serious accidents caused by these type of vehicles simply going too fast. Another alternative is tachometers.
F.A. VERMAAS
Bogor, West Java