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Accidents and incidents on the low
Flowing back: Motorcyclists board a ferry that will take them from Bakauheni Port in Lampung to Merak, West Java, on Friday
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Flowing back:: Motorcyclists board a ferry that will take them from Bakauheni Port in Lampung to Merak, West Java, on Friday. Authorities have taken all necessary measures to accommodate the transportion of holidaymakers rushing back for work after a week off. (Antara/Kristian Ali) (Antara/Kristian Ali)
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span class="inline inline-center">Flowing back: Motorcyclists board a ferry that will take them from Bakauheni Port in Lampung to Merak, West Java, on Friday. Authorities have taken all necessary measures to accommodate the transportion of holidaymakers rushing back for work after a week off. (Antara/Kristian Ali)
As the Idul Fitri holiday comes to an end, the nation has begun to count the grim cost of the annual mass exodus, with at least 429 lives lost on Indonesia's roads.
The number of fatalities could well rise further as the weekend sees a peak of returning travelers to urban centers, such as Greater Jakarta.
Better discipline by motorists, organization and traffic education seems to have helped reduce the number of unnecessary deaths compared to previous years.
According to National Police spokesperson Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amart, 2,003 road accidents were reported between July 22 and 31.
'By the 10th day of our holiday monitoring operation, 429 people had died in traffic accidents, 704 experienced major injuries and 2,595 people sustained minor injuries,' he told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
While the loss of more than 400 lives is a staggeringly tragic toll for a mere 10-day period, it signifies a noticeable drop in numbers compared to previous years at a time when the number of mudik travelers has risen.
Past data from the National Police recorded 2,337 accidents during last year's Idul Fitri exodus, which claimed 518 lives.
Boy claims that police efforts to educate motorists have begun to bear fruit.
'For the past two years, we have been going to communities to raise awareness of how to stay safe while traveling home. We encourage people to be more aware of traffic lights, more aware of their physical well-being and also more aware of their vehicles' condition,' he explained.
He added that better road conditions through the improvement of infrastructure, such as streets and bridges, was also a contributing factor.
According to the Transportation Ministry, the number of people who ventured on their mudik ritual increased annually.
Some 17.24 million people traveled home in 2012 and 18.58 million in 2013. It is estimated that this year's number reached 19.29 million people, up by 3.83 percent.
Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie, also a National Police spokesperson, further contended that focusing their efforts on the 10 most congested provinces ' South Sumatra, Lampung, Banten, Jakarta, West Java, Central Java, Yogyakarta, East Java, Bali and South Sulawesi ' had helped lower the number of accidents this year.
He praised the cooperation between the police and relevant institutions, such as the Transportation Ministry and the Health Ministry, to ensure the safety of travelers during the holiday season.
The Health Ministry also provided assistance to ensure that medical services were readily accessible through a network of 2,641 health centers and 1,554 hospitals in Sumatra, Java and Bali.
The ministry's health research and development center head, Tjandra Yoga Aditama, said health examinations had been conducted on 1,754 drivers between July 22 and 25 to test whether they were fit to drive.
Based on the examinations, 1,404 people were declared fit to drive, 275 were declared fit to drive but with a caution, while 75 were found to be unfit to drive. (fss)
