L

ast Sunday’s bizarre drunk-driving that claimed nine lives near the Gambir train station should serve as a terrible reminder for the authorities and public about the dangers of driving under influence, which have yet to receive due attention.

The tragedy remains the talk of the town, not only because of the tragic loss of so many innocent lives in a single incident but also because it proves what could happen if the law against DUI is poorly enforced.

Although the police conduct routine street checks, they usually focus on documents, such as driver’s licenses, vehicle registration papers and ID cards.

The Gambir tragedy and numerous other less-spectacular DUI-related incidents that have escaped public scrutiny should compel the police to take more serious action in discouraging drink driving and thus save lives.

It’s an open secret authorities turn a blind eye to drugs, especially at nightspots in Jakarta. Regular visitors of entertainment centers know that getting ecstasy in some places is as easy as buying cigarettes, if you know the game.

So 29-year-old Afriyani Susanti, the driver of the car in the Gambir tragedy, is apparently a victim of the rotten system. As investigators said, she drank alcohol and popped ecstasy hours before the accident.

Police said she was so heavily drunk that she lost control of the van, with three drunk passengers on board, which sped up to 100 kilometers per hour and plowed into a crowd of people on their way home from jogging and sightseeing along nearby thoroughfares that are designated car-free on Sundays.

“At the curve, she meant to apply the brakes but, in fact, what she did was press down on the accelerator,” National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman said.

One can only imagine how Afriyani was in a state of ecstasy during the eventful moments, but in cyberspace things were tumultuous, with people expressing their anger on Twitter and Facebook over her “unapologetic” facial expressions when she, miraculously, came out of her twisted car practically unscratched.

The tragedy happened at a time when people were still aghast at the news of a pilot being arrested on Jan. 9 in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar on charges of consumption and possession of methamphetamine.

Sure, the arrest was probably an isolated incident. But it undoubtedly caused some people to wonder if the privately owned airline’s notorious flight delays had anything to do with its pilots’ bad habits, such as “flying high” at the pub.

For the somewhat faint-hearted, traveling on a flight with a drunk pilot would definitely be more frightening than getting a free ride with a drunk friend sitting behind the wheel.

What if the euphoria from last night’s party gives the pilot the illusion that the mountain slopes in front of him are actually the destination airport, so he decides to “land” on them?

More than anything, the case of the drunken pilot and many less-publicized DUI incidents illustrate people’s poor awareness of personal and public safety.

In Jakarta, reckless driving and insecurity are part of daily life in the city of 10 million people, who rely on their private vehicles because the public transportation system is both unreliable and inadequate.

The Gambir tragedy might have added another line to the long list of excuses used to explain why many Jakartans do anything to have cars or motorbikes.

A friend of mine, who travels by motorcycle in Jakarta, loves to joke: “if you go on foot, you risk of being struck by a van driven by a drunkard. If you take a bus, you risk sexual harassment and if you go by train you risk your wallet.”

At the national level, the joke is similar. In Indonesia, where transport safety standards are often questionable, you can choose the way you will die. If you want to die slowly, go by ferry (it sinks slowly). If you want to go fast then travel by plane and if you want it horribly, take a train.

Yes, of course those jokes about death are greatly exaggerated but they serve as a terrific wake-up call for the public and authorities to do more about safety. You then won’t have to worry about the different options for death.

— Pandaya