Traffic situation
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