T

he National Police'€™s Traffic Corps has revealed they are discussing the possibility of changing the regulation on motorcycle driver'€™s licenses, also known as SIM C, from the current one-license-for-all system into several categories depending on engine size.

The division'€™s chief, Insp. Gen. Condro Kirono, said on Monday that in the future, holders of SIM C licenses would only be allowed to ride motorcycles with engine sizes of up to 250cc, while those with engines of up to 500cc would need a SIM C1. Motorcycles with engines larger than 500cc would require a SIM C2.

'€œBut I want to emphasize that this is still in discussion. We still need to go through several steps,'€ he told reporters at a press briefing at the division'€™s headquarters in South Jakarta on Monday.

The corps started discussing the plan in June last year and the new regulation was expected to be enforced in 2017, he said.

During the press conference, Condro clarified reports that the regulation would be enforced in May this year. '€œReports that the regulation will be enforced in May are incorrect. We'€™re still discussing [the plan] internally,'€ he added.

He said the corps had considered changing the current regulation because automotive trends had changed rapidly in recent years.

'€œWe have to follow the changes in the automotive world. Big motorcycles have continued to emerge. These big motorcycles need special expertise to ride. So, people who want to ride these motorcycles need to undergo special tests,'€ he explained.

When asked whether the regulatory change was as a result of an increase in traffic accidents caused by a lack of expertise in riding big motorcycles, Condro replied that although such accidents were frequent the corps did not have data on whether the trend was increasing.

'€œAfter all, we cannot wait until such accidents occur before issuing the regulation,'€ he said.

Irianto Ibrahim, secretary general of Indonesian Big Motorcycles Club (MBC) said that holders of the different licenses should also receive different treatment on the road.

'€œ[At the moment] all motorcyclists have the same type of license, which means they receive the same treatment on the road. But, when the licenses are divided into categories, they [motorcyclists] should also receive different treatment on roads,'€ he said as quoted by kompas.com without elaborating further.

During Monday'€™s briefing, Condro also announced a temporary change in the SIM C extension regulation.

He said the new regulation allowed motorcyclists to extend SIM C licenses that had expired by between three months and a year.

'€œIn the past those whose SIM C licenses had expired by more than three months could no longer extend them. Now they can,'€ he explained, adding that the regulation would only be applicable until March 31 this year. (saf)