Greater awareness of road regulations needed: City police

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Thu, 05/22/2008 11:11 AM  |  City

Almost all accidents involving motorcycles in the city this year were caused by riders violating traffic regulations, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Adang Firman said Tuesday.

"Most fatal accidents involving motorcycles were caused by human error and negligence of traffic rules. Therefore, increasing safety awareness among bike riders is the best way to curb accidents," he said during a safe-riding campaign and tour involving more than 30,000 motorcyclists from Greater Jakarta.

The event, held by the Jakarta Police and PT Astra Honda Motor (AHM), set a new record for the biggest convoy of motorcycles, as declared by Jaya Suprana from the Indonesian Museum of Records.

Executive vice president of AHM, Siswanto Prawiro Atmojo, said the main aim of the campaign and tour was to motivate and provide insights for the motorcyclists on the importance of discipline and caution whenever they were on the road.

During the safe-riding campaign at the Jakarta International Expo parking area in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, the motorcyclists were provided with several simulators to measure their driving competence, an arena to test their driving skills and tutorial sessions to improve their understanding of driving regulations.

Abdullah, a mailman working at the Pasar Baru post office in Central Jakarta, participated in the tour but preferred to sit down and enjoy a free meal while listening to the dangdut music provided by the committee.

"I am not sure if I will try those tests. I decided to join the tour because today is a holiday and I like touring," he said.

He said around 3,000 mailmen from Jakarta and its surrounding areas, including Bogor, Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi, joined the convoy. They gathered at the Pasar Baru post office the night before.

According to data released by police this month, at least three people died each day in traffic accidents from January to April 2008. During that period, police recorded 2,210 road accidents; 56 percent of them involved motorcycles, 19 percent private cars, 12 percent public transportation vehicles and 12 percent cargo vehicles.

The accidents resulted in 382 fatalities, 861 severe injuries and 1,374 minor injuries.

Last year, police recorded 5,154 accidents, with 68 percent of cases involving motorcycles. The death toll for the period was 719 and 1,703 people were severely injured.(uwi)

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