Several videos showing police escort cars as well as government and private cars that use loud sirens and flashing strobe lights have made rounds on social media last week, with people expressing their frustration over the arrogance of these vehicles and how they often disrupt the traffic flows.

People on social media said vehicles with lights and sirens often demand priority on roads even when there is no urgency to do so or they are not in an emergency, disrupting the flow of traffic and exacerbating road congestion.

The hashtag “stop tot tot wuk wuk”, which resembles the sound coming from sirens, has been trending on social media, with people demanding that the facilities should be prioritized only for emergency purposes, such as ambulances, firefighters or rescue vehicles and hearses.

Responding to the demand, Korlantas chief Insp. Gen. Agus Suryonugroho told The Jakarta Post on Sunday that the police have now “temporarily suspended their usage for all police escort vehicles, with exceptions for the services they provide for the President and Vice President, foreign dignitaries and heads of state institutions”.

The police can still use sirens and strobe lights for traffic patrols.

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“We also urge people not to install sirens and strobe lights [illegally] on their cars,“ Agus said.

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