Road accidents claim an average of 30,000 lives per year, or 82 per day, making them Indonesia's number three biggest cause of death and road transport the most dangerous mode of transportation, a seminar revealed Thursday.
"The numbers are based on official data. I personally believe road accidents are like the iceberg phenomenon," Indonesian Consumers Foundation coordinator Tulus Abadi told participants of a discussion on transportation safety at state radio station RRI.
"Traffic accidents are currently the third most frequent cause of death after heart attack and stroke," he added.
Tulus said poor road conditions were to blame along with poor driver standards.
"This is why we urge all concerned parties to immediately improve our road transport system so as to curb the number of deaths," he said.
Director of state insurance company PT Jasa Raharja Diding Anwar said his company spent Rp 500 billion annually on compensation for road accident victims and their families.
Anwar said Jasa Raharja had recently increased the value of compensation for victims by 250 percent.
"We now hand out Rp 25 million for a death, Rp 10 million for medical treatment and Rp 2 million for burial service to each victim's family," Anwar told kompas.com. (amr)
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