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2,700 police deployed to ticket motorists using phones while driving
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Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said that accessing mobile phones while driving could disrupt focus and concentration. (Shutterstock/Kaspars Grinvald)
I
n what they say is an attempt to reduce traffic accidents, the Jakarta Police are determined to ticket motorists found using mobile phones while driving, including opening phone-based maps.
Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Argo Yuwono said that accessing mobile phones while driving could disrupt focus and concentration.
"If you pick up your phone while driving, potentially endangering other people, then you'll be ticketed," he told reporters on Monday, adding that traffic accidents claimed many lives daily, and many of these were caused by drivers’ diverted concentration while accessing their mobile phones.
The Jakarta Police began their 21-day traffic operation dubbed Operation Keselamatan Jaya on Monday. During the first day of the operation, the police picked three busy locations namely Palmerah in West and Central Jakarta, the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta and Casablanca in South Jakarta, deploying 2,704 personnel.
The operation also targeted motorists driving on the wrong side of the road; those with vehicle overcapacity; underage driving; as well as non-usage of helmets by motorcyclists.
Jakarta Police’s traffic division chief Sr. Comr. Halim Pagarra stressed that the enforcement would apply to app-based motorcycle taxi drivers who often use cell phones while driving to check their maps.
Article 106 of Law No. 22/2009 on traffic and land transportation stipulates that motorists must drive with full care and concentration. Halim said that accessing maps while driving was considered a violation of the law. (fac/jlm)
