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790 motorcyclists ticketed on first day of Operation Zebra
Wrong way: Police officers stop motorcyclists who take a lane earmarked for cars on Jl
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Wrong way:: Police officers stop motorcyclists who take a lane earmarked for cars on Jl. Letjen R. Suprapto, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday. The city police have embarked on a large-scale operation targeting motorists whose violations of traffic regulations they blame for a high rate of crashes. (JP/DON) (JP/DON)
W
span class="caption">Wrong way: Police officers stop motorcyclists who take a lane earmarked for cars on Jl. Letjen R. Suprapto, Central Jakarta, on Wednesday. The city police have embarked on a large-scale operation targeting motorists whose violations of traffic regulations they blame for a high rate of crashes. (JP/DON)
On the first day of Operation Zebra, police officers in Greater Jakarta ticketed 790 motorcyclists for driving against traffic and 411 public transportation vehicles like angkot (public minivans) and Kopaja buses for stopping arbitrarily to pick up or drop off passengers.
'We had no set quota for today. The number of motorists we ticketed depended on how many people actually violated traffic regulations,' Jakarta Police traffic law enforcement head Adj. Sr. Comr. Hindarsono told The Jakarta Post.
However, Hindarsono acknowledged that the sudden downpour in several areas of Greater Jakarta
had reduced the effectiveness of the operation.
'The number [of tickets] would have been much higher if it had not been raining. I am sure of it,'
he said.
The massive operation, which runs from Wednesday to Dec. 9, focuses on the two traffic violations ' driving against traffic and illegal pick-ups and drop-offs ' as they are the most commonly found infractions in Greater Jakarta, Hindarsono said.
According to Jakarta Police data, officers ticketed 62,691 motorists for driving against traffic from January to September, with 9,233 motorists fined in October alone.
Meanwhile, 5,964 motorists were ticketed in October for stopping arbitrarily to drop off or pick up passengers, up from 4,466 in September.
The operation is also an effort to decrease the number of traffic accidents in Greater Jakarta. Some 4,308 have been recorded up through October this year.
Hindarsono said that seven traffic accidents occurred in Greater Jakarta on Wednesday, leaving two dead and six others injured.
Despite the focused nature of the operation, Hindarsono said that the 2,700 officers deployed to run the Rp 2.9 billion (US$237,880) operation were also on the lookout for other traffic regulations.
'We ticketed 3,930 motorists today. Some 2,773 of them were motorcyclists, followed by 357 cars and 272 public minivans,' he said.
Separately, Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. Unggung Cahyono said that traffic officers would not be accepting bribes.
'We will take firm action against traffic violators. If you violate a traffic regulation, you will be ticketed,' he said at Jakarta Police headquarters in South Jakarta.
Unggung said he hoped the operation would not only decrease the number of accidents, but also help ease Jakarta's notorious traffic congestion.
He added that police in Greater Jakarta were focused on ticketing 80 percent of those apprehended and reprimanding or giving advice to the other 20 percent.
'We advise all citizens to follow the law. If not, we will act. Traffic police are also not alone in this. They are assisted by the Mobile Brigade (Brimob), the Sabhara rapid response unit and TNI soldiers,' he said.
