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Mean streets: Five worst road rage incidents in Jakarta
According to 2017 INRIX traffic data, Jakarta has the 12th worst traffic on earth, with 20 percent of Jakartans’ driving time being spent in congestion. To make matters worse, some of the city’s riders and drivers are notoriously rowdy. Thus, even the city’s most law-abiding drivers could easily lose their temper.
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Vehicles passing through Jl. MH Thamrin, one of the main thoroughfare in the capital. (Shutterstock/File)
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video of an angry South Tangerang man trying to dismantle his motorcycle after being ticketed by a police officer went viral last week.
Some people deem the video unsettling, while others may find it amusing.
Read also: Police arrest angry man who destroyed motorbike, but not for that
Whatever your reaction is, it is safe to say that violent road rage incidents are not uncommon in Greater Jakarta, which is plagued by bad traffic and sees perhaps some of the worst drivers in the world.
According to 2017 INRIX traffic data, Jakarta has the 12th worst traffic on earth, with 20 percent of Jakartans’ driving time being spent in congestion. To make matters worse, some of the city’s riders and drivers are notoriously rowdy. Thus, even the city’s most law-abiding drivers could easily lose their temper.
Below is a list of some of the worst road rage incidents on the mean streets of Jakarta and its satellite cities.
Supreme Court staff assaults officer
In December 2016, an employee of the Supreme Court named Dora Natalia Singarimbun was captured on video attacking a traffic police officer.
Police officer Adj. First Insp. Sutisna, who was involved in the incident, said that Dora, who was driving home from work, complained because Sustina had stood in her way.
He then took a picture of her car's license plate, using his cell phone, in order to make a report, but the action angered Dora.
Dora got out of her car and tried to grab his phone. Sutisna appeared to defend himself and took Dora's car key. Dora then became even more agitated and was seen pulling at the officer's uniform.
Sutisna turned his back and did not retaliate when Dora shouted at him and assaulted him on Jl. Jatinegara Barat in East Jakarta.
As the incident had gone viral, Dora wrote an apology on her Facebook account.
"I apologize to all Indonesian people, especially those who felt offended [by my actions]. I promise to change, to think before acting," Dora wrote on her Facebook account. Dora was then reportedly transferred outside of Java by the court.
Meanwhile, Sustina received an award from Jakarta Police chief Insp. Gen. M. Iriawan for "demonstrating a high degree of patience" during the attack.
Teenager injured after being attacked by motorist
In August last year, a man identified as MA admitted to hitting a 14-year-old passenger of a car that suddenly stopped in front of his own.
The boy’s brother, Reza Ahmad, posted a video of the incident on social media. The video shows his brother’s bloody nose and the alleged perpetrator’s face and license plate of the latter’s car, which shows a military sticker.
The incident occurred when Reza’s family was driving along the Jagorawi toll road from Bogor in West Java to Jakarta when the car in front of them made a sudden stop. Reza, who was driving the car, and the driver of a Chevrolet Captiva behind him hit their brakes to avoid a collision.
The Chevrolet’s driver, MA, blocked Reza’s car and ordered the latter to get out of the car. He choked Reza and then hit his brother.
Man holds out revolver to cut line to toll booth
In March last year, a man named Teza Irawan, a member of the Indonesian Shooting and Hunting Association (Perbakin), was criminally charged after reportedly brandishing a revolver to scare other drivers while he was driving on the inner-city toll road heading for Cawang in East Jakarta.
Teza was said to have been driving erratically, flashing his headlights when passing Dharmais General Hospital in West Jakarta. He then reportedly stopped and stuck what appeared to be a gun out of the window of his car to intimidate other drivers into letting him cut the line to the toll booth.
Man dies after fistfight with other motorist
Back in June 2015, the secretary of Bogor regency's culture and tourism agency, Zuryawan Irvandiar Zoebir, died after an altercation with another road user identified as Olive Leonardi.
The police said the incident began with Zuryawan and Leonardi were battling to enter the Bogor Outer Ring Road, heading from Sentul to Bogor.
Witnesses reported that the two stopped their cars and fought. During the fight, Zuryawan fell and lost consciousness. Other road users stopped to help but he died on the way to the hospital.
Man ripped off motorbike after being ticketed
The man, identified as Adi Saputra, 21, was driving against the traffic flow on a Honda Scoopy motorbike with his girlfriend, Yuni, near Pasar Modern Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD) Market in South Tangerang. In addition to wrong-way driving, Adi was also not wearing a helmet and failed to show his driver’s license, vehicle registration document and his ID card.
When he was stopped, Adi yelled at the officer and proceeded to destroy the motorbike while his girlfriend pleaded for him to stop. Adi ripped off parts of the motorcycle and hit it with a big stone.
His actions were captured on camera and the video went viral after being posted on Instagram by @pauull_21 and @jktinfo.
The motorbike was confiscated by the police officer, who ordered Adi to walk home and retrieve the documents, which he did not have.
