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Fatalities during Idul Fitri exodus down by 54 percent, police claim
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Vehicles line up at the exit gate of Pejagan toll road in Brebes, Central Java, on July 3. Homebound travelers were stuck in traffic for hours three days prior to the Idul Fitri celebrations. (Antara/Rosa Panggabean)
T
he number of road victims during the annual Idul Fitri exodus dropped by 54 percent this year due to the smooth cooperation between law enforcers and the public, police said on Monday.
The latest data recorded 502 victims from 2,707 traffic accidents during the weeks before and after the Idul Fitri celebration this year, a decrease from 1,093 victims from 3,916 accidents in the same period last year.
National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian said that the improvement was due to the conducive efforts of all elements involved, including toll road operators, the Indonesian Military (TNI), scout members and Barisan Ansor Serbaguna (Banser), the youth wing of Indonesia’s largest Muslim organization, Nahdlatul Ulama.
Read also: Do not return on weekend, toll road operator tells Jakartans
"For next year, we hope that toll roads will be fully constructed [during the exodus], so they can be used and help ease the traffic," he said, adding that more rest areas would also be available along toll roads.
"Drivers will not exit toll roads unless they have nearly reached their destinations, so the journey must be exhausting and therefore, more rest areas are needed," he said. (yon/ika)
