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Holiday travel death toll soars as Idul Fitri nears
Exhausted: Motorcyclists take a snooze at a gas station in Cirebon, West Java, on Sunday
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Exhausted: Motorcyclists take a snooze at a gas station in Cirebon, West Java, on Sunday. Fewer holidaymakers traveled by motorbike this year thanks to more free buses made available by the government and major businesses in Jakarta. (Antara/Yudhi Mahatma) (Antara/Yudhi Mahatma)
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span class="inline inline-none">Exhausted: Motorcyclists take a snooze at a gas station in Cirebon, West Java, on Sunday. Fewer holidaymakers traveled by motorbike this year thanks to more free buses made available by the government and major businesses in Jakarta. (Antara/Yudhi Mahatma)
As more homeward-bound travellers hit the road, the death toll from traffic accidents rose, raising concerns about the lack of safety among holiday travelers who are headed home for the annual Idul Fitri celebration.
Five days before Idul Fitri, which is expected to fall on Aug. 8, the National Police has so far recorded 60 deaths in 224 traffic accidents between Friday and Saturday.
National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie said that the number of traffic accidents on Saturday rose by 55 percent from the day before.
'The number of fatalities rose from 12 on Friday to 60 on Saturday. Victims with severe injuries surged from 26 to 71 people, while those who sustained minor injuries increased from 112 to 260 people,' Ronny said on Sunday.
Ronny said most of the traffic accidents happened to riders of motorbikes. The traffic accidents between Friday and Saturday involved 263 motorcycles, 48 cars, 14 buses and 45 trucks.
The National Police had earlier stepped up its campaign to dissuade homeward-bound travelers from riding on motorbikes given that 80 percent of traffic accidents occurring during last year's exodus involved this type of vehicle.
Last year, 908 died during the Idul Fitri holiday travel which lasted for two weeks. The figure was 16 percent higher than those recorded in 2011.
More than 9.7 million out of 11 million people living in Jakarta are expected to join the Idul Fitri exodus this year. Nationwide, more than 30 million people are homeward bound over the holiday. Meanwhile, to ensure the preparedness among relevant government agencies to deal with the surge in the number of travellers, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made a visit to some spots where holiday travelers departed on Sunday.
Yudhoyono's first stop was the Nusantara-2 passenger terminal at the Tanjung Priok Sea Port in North Jakarta where he greeted hundreds of travelers aboard the Navy's KRI Banda Aceh-593 bound for Tanjung Emas Port in Semarang, Central Java.
'Some of you will travel to Madiun [EastJava], Magelang, Purwodadi, Semarang [Central Java], and last but not least: Pacitan [Yudhoyono's home town],' said Yudhoyono, who was met with cheers from the travelers.
Yudhoyono also shared tips on how to avoid sea sickness. 'If the sea is rough and you feel unwell, just go outside your cabin and get fresh air. You will feel better again,' he said.
Navy spokesman Commodore Untung Suropati said the KRI Banda Aceh was dispatched specifically to assist travelers bound for Central and East Java, who brought their motorbikes with them. The service, which was free, was part of the Navy's program to improve safety for holiday travelers
The KRI Banda Aceh has been prepared to accommodate 2,000 passengers and 1,000 motorcycles.
From Tanjung Priok, Yudhoyono continued his trip to the Transportation Ministry in Central Jakarta.
