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View all search resultsMore than 1,000 accidents in exodus
Two days after the Idul Fitri celebration traffic has started to gain steam, as many holiday travelers began leaving their hometowns on their way back to Jakarta and other major cities across the country
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wo days after the Idul Fitri celebration traffic has started to gain steam, as many holiday travelers began leaving their hometowns on their way back to Jakarta and other major cities across the country.
The death toll from traffic accidents on highways during the holiday season continued to climb, reaching 216 by late Saturday, the police announced Sunday.
Overall, 1,013 traffic accidents had been recorded during the ongoing Idul Fitri holiday season. National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Iskandar Hasan told kompas.com on Sunday.
Two hundred and ninety people were severly injured, while 566 sustained light injuries from the accidents, he said.
The police recorded 86 traffic accidents on Saturday alone, resulting in 34 deaths.
“The estimated immediate financial damages from the accidents total Rp 3.8 billion [US$422,000],” Iskandar said.
Last year, 702 people were killed in traffic accidents during the Idul Fitri season.
In West Java’s recently completed Nagreg Ring Road, some travelers were forced to walk after their cars stalled on their way up the steep Citiis incline.
Traffic heading to Jakarta via Bandung’s Padalarang turnpike also increased, while detiknews.com reported that on Sunday evening the popular Puncak resort area near the West Java town of Bogor had been closed to traffic from Jakarta.
A long line of vehicles stretching up to 20 kilometers was reported in Puncak from about 2 p.m. because of the high volume of vehicles coming in and out of tourism parks and restaurants along the way.
Cianjur Police traffic unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Gatot Utomo told Antara that massive congestion was reported in tourist areas such as Cibodas and Taman Safari park.
On Sunday, traffic along the main northern coastal highway, better known as Pantura, which connects Jakarta to other major cities in Java, had begun to increase but was not yet congested.
Around 5,000 vehicles, mostly motorcycles, were recorded on the highway’s Cirebon-Indramayu route every hour.
“Traffic would become heavier by night. We estimate it will reach 100,000 vehicles an hour,” Indramayu Transportation Agency chief H. Kusin told kompas.com at the Lohbener traffic monitoring post on Sunday.
“But we expect the peak in traffic will take place on Monday,” he said, adding that this was based on the fact that many holiday travelers, especially civil servants, had to return to work on Tuesday when the government’s set holiday for Idul Fitri ends.
Officials estimated that around 2.4 million homeward bound travelers and 600,000 vehicles would travel through West Java’s northern and southern routes for Idul Fitri, around 300,000 more than the 2.1 million travelers last year.
At Jakarta’s busy Senen train station, holiday travelers are expected to arrive back in the capital next weekend before many children return to school on Sept. 20.
“We anticipate the inflow of returning travelers will peak on Saturday or Sunday,” PT Kereta Api Indonesia spokesman Mateta Rijalulhaq told Antara on Sunday.
Two days after Idul Fitri, few travelers had returned to Jakarta, he said, adding that many people were still trying to get tickets at the train station on Sunday to return to their hometowns to celebrate Idul Fitri with their loved ones.
One passenger, Kartika, said she usually preferred to visit her relatives after Idul Fitri.
“It’s better to leave after Idul Fitri because it’s not so crowded,” she told Antara, adding that she was leaving for Yogyakarta with her husband and children.
