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Weekly 5: Road user behavior everyone hates
JPDealing with traffic in Jakarta is an ordeal for practically everyone, made worse by traffic regulation violations or simply bad road etiquette
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JP
Dealing with traffic in Jakarta is an ordeal for practically everyone, made worse by traffic regulation violations or simply bad road etiquette. Cars hate motorcycles, motorcycles hate public transportation, while pedestrians perhaps hate everyone. Here are five types of road users and their typical behavior that annoys others:
Motorcycles
The omnipresence of motorcycles and the vast backgrounds (skill and knowledge level) of the riders have made motorcycles public enemy No. 1.
According to data from the Jakarta Transportation Agency, there are currently 17.4 million motor vehicles in the city, 13 million of which are motorcycles.
One of the most notorious offenses is traveling against the flow of traffic while failing to show any remorse. Pedestrians also hate them for usurping sidewalks. Many motorcyclists springing up from small alleys also tend to make left turns without checking for vehicles approaching from his or her right side.
But ask any taxi driver in the city, they probably have a very long litany of complaints against motorcycles.
Public transportation
This one competes for the title with motorcycles.
Most public transportation drivers work using a 'setoran' system, which prompts them to wait for passengers anywhere they like without regard of the traffic congestion they create.
Another source of complaints is their habit of dropping off and picking up passengers anywhere they want instead of at designated bus stops.
Jakarta Governor Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama threatened last year to revoke the operational licenses of public transportation operators whose vehicles were caught waiting for passengers on the streets and imposed an Rp 500,000 (US$38) fine on the driver.
Slow-moving carts
Man-powered carts, usually transporting a mountain of recyclables, or food vendors, often irritate other road users for behaving like pedestrians. The carts often go against the flow of traffic because they find making a U-turn too arduous.
Their speed, or lackthereof, frustrates others, especially motorcyclists that share the left lane with them.
Food vendors on the sidewalks that wrap up business at the end of the day casually, without any consideration, move to the streets and push their carts against the flow of traffic.
Cars
People expect better from drivers, but their expectations are usually too high.
Illegally using Transjakarta lanes, not using designated lanes before taking a turn, speeding when the traffic light says it's time to slow down, parking carelessly and driving without a driver's license or, even worse, underage driving, are among traffic and etiquette violations that take place on Jakarta's streets. The list is actually longer, with many cars in Jakarta undergoing modifications that can put drivers at risk.
Pedestrians
Pedestrians may be at the bottom of the food chain on the street, with their meager rights violated by everyone. However, it does not mean that pedestrians, who are usually also passengers of public transportation, do not have any part in the mess.
One of the common violations is jaywalking, which is perhaps prompted by the lack of pedestrian-friendly crossings.
Another annoying habit of this group is flagging down public transportation anywhere they like. Passengers of public minivans or minibuses also often alight up at inappropriate places, such as around the bend or the middle of a street.
