Late last year, Transportation Ministry land transportation director general Budi Setiadi revealed that “almost 90 percent of the country’s logistics is still transported by land”.
everal road accidents involving large trucks taking place across the country in the past few months have raised questions over safety standards in the logistics services, the backbone of the nation’s economy.
Late last year, Transportation Ministry land transportation director general Budi Setiadi revealed that “almost 90 percent of the country’s logistics is still transported by land”.
His statement was in line with a report issued by the Australian-funded Indonesia Infrastructure Initiative (IndII) in 2014, which found that around 75 percent of logistics transportation across the country was still done by road. Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Bali and the Nusa Tenggara islands rely heavily on land transportation, while Kalimantan, Maluku and Papua depend mostly on sea transportation.
The latest crash that made headlines on Sunday involved 21 vehicles and killed at least eight people. The accident started when a dump truck tipped on its side at Kilometer-91 of the Cipularang toll road. Four vehicles were waiting for the truck to be moved when they were hit by another truck that had veered of control due to brake failure.
Another accident involving a freight truck in Tangerang, Banten, in August killed the driver of an app-based ride-hailing service and his three passengers. An infant who was traveling with them survived.
Five days later, another truck loaded with hebel blocks crashed into a car in Neglasari, Tangerang. While the car was severely damaged, its driver escaped the incident with his life.
While authorities were quick to blame the drivers involved, these accidents draw attention to prevailing problems surrounding transportation and logistics.
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