Fatigue main cause of traffic accidents

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The Jakarta Police said on Monday that 15 people had died in traffic accidents around the capital in the final days of the fasting month of Ramadhan, when millions of Jakartans typically travel to their hometowns.

The Jakarta Police Traffic Directorate’s chief of operations, Adj. Sr. Comr. Budiyanto, said that 13 of the deaths that occurred between Aug. 11 and Aug. 19 were exodus-related, while two other deaths occurred on Saturday night in road convoys on the eve of Idul Fitri, locally known as takbiran.

“All in all, we recorded 142 traffic accidents in our jurisdiction, with 210 casualties. Fifteen people died, 45 sustained major injuries and 150 suffered minor injuries,” he told reporters on Monday.

The Jakarta Police’s jurisdiction includes the capital and its surrounding cities of Depok, Tangerang and Bekasi. Parts of major toll roads that feed major exodus routes, including the Jagorawi toll road, the Jakarta–Cikampek toll road and the Jakarta–Merak toll road also fall within their jurisdiction.

Budiyanto said that most vehicles involved in accidents were motorbikes, topping the list at 142, adding that 56 private vehicles, 25 trucks, 18 public vehicles, two buses and 21 pedestrians, were also involved.

Data made available by the traffic police on Monday shows that “fatigue or drowsiness” was cited as the cause of 133 of the accidents, while speeding was mentioned only once. The causes of the remaining eight accidents were not stated.

The data also shows that most of the accidents, at 26, took place between 9 a.m. and noon. Another 20 took place between midnight and 3 a.m. “We have estimated material losses due to the accidents to be around Rp 525.4 million [US$55,167],” Budiyanto said.

To ensure the safety of travelers during the exodus period, the police launched “Operation Ketupat Jaya”, referring to the rhombus-shaped rice cakes synonymous with Idul Fitri. During the 16-day operation, which began on Aug. 11, the Jakarta Police deployed a combined force of 8,000 officers, drawing on both provincial and municipal forces in Greater Jakarta.

The police were also assisted by 455 officers from the city administration, 90 military police officers and 100 officials from toll road operator PT Jasa Marga in their efforts to safeguard the exodus.

Separately, the Jakarta Police’s chief of operations, Sr. Comr. Agung Budi Maryoto, said that the city saw far fewer traffic violations during held on Idul Fitri’s eve this year.

“Residents were more orderly during this year’s road convoys compared to those of last year. We still saw some people riding on the roofs of vehicles, but we told them to come down and they obliged,” he said.

According to Agung, the police ticketed 532 drivers for violations during this year’s road convoys,
far less than the 1,080 tickets issued last year.

Common violations during the road convoys included riding on the roofs of public minivans, over-capacity public vehicles and riding motorcycles without helmets, he said.