JP/Ricky Yudhistira

According to the City Police, the number of vehicles in Greater Jakarta was 16.04 million in 2013, and was expected to rise again this year thanks to strong sales of cars and motorcycles. With the continuously increasing number of vehicles that contribute to daily gridlock across the city, it is surprising to find that many motorists do not understand or simply ignore many basic traffic regulations stipulated in the 2009 Traffic Law. Here are five basic regulations motorists may have to watch out for on the road:

Slow down at yellow traffic lights

Most Jakartans have heard the joke that when a traffic light turns yellow, it means you have to increase your vehicle'€™s speed. Although most take this as a joke, many motorists ignore the basic rule.

A road-safety specialist said that many believe the joke to be true.

'€œI'€™ve taught people from the city who really do not know that the yellow light means they have to slow down and prepare to stop. They honestly think it'€™s alright to speed up,'€ said Haridarma Manoppo, a former racing driver who now teaches road safety to drivers at PT Fortuna Stars.

Many motorists in the city were overconfident in estimating how long it took to reach a traffic light turning from red to yellow, Haridarma said, and could get into accidents with cars coming from other directions if they were driving recklessly.

Such an act violates Article 287 of the Traffic Law.

Driving against traffic flow

Although there are clear regulations that forbid motorists from driving against the flow of traffic, Hindarsono said, there are still many who think it is acceptable when taking shortcuts.

'€œIt is mostly committed by motorcyclists. They always make excuses that they wanted to take a shortcut and were small enough to not be a nuisance,'€ he said, noting that motorcyclists driving against the traffic flow did not understand how they recklessly put themselves and other motorists in danger.

Hindarsono cited Jl. Ciledug Raya in South Jakarta as a hot spot for motorcyclists used to driving against the traffic.

Stay left to turn left

Haridarma also pointed out that many drivers did not know they had to stay in one lane if they wanted to turn in a certain direction. If motorists were moving from one lane to another or making a maneuver, this could cause disrupt traffic and even lead to accidents, he said.

'€œSome of my students told me that they didn'€™t know that cars turning left must stay in the left lane from the very beginning and not just slip in whenever they want to,'€ he said.

Stop at zebra crossings

Jakarta Traffic Police enforcement head Adj. Sr. Comr. Hindarsono said that traffic police often encountered motorists who drove through empty zebra crossings even though traffic lights in front of them were red.

'€œMost people we'€™ve stopped said that they thought it was alright to keep driving across a zebra crossing when there'€™s no one there. Motorists don'€™t understand that they have to stop in case a pedestrian suddenly crosses,'€ he said, citing the zebra crossing in front of the National Museum in Central Jakarta as an example.

This kind of poor driving violates both Article 287 on disobeying traffic lights and Article 284 on violating pedestrian rights.

Don'€™t stop on roadside

Many motorists like to stop suddenly without warning on the roadside, either to park temporarily or to drop off passengers or items.

Hindarsono said that many motorcyclists and private car drivers complained that the police targeted their vehicles or ticketed them while vehicles such as three-wheeled bajaj or taxis were not punished for stopping on the roadside.

'€œPublic transportation vehicles have permits but it still doesn'€™t mean they can stop anywhere,'€ he said. '€” JP

Popular

Is Indonesia really ready to embrace dual citizenship?

Tens of thousands seek better lives in Jakarta. But is the city losing its draw?

Elon Musk's Starlink granted licences to operate in Indonesia