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E-ticketing deters violators
Beady eye: A photo taken on Tuesday shows a CCTV camera over Jl
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eady eye: A photo taken on Tuesday shows a CCTV camera over Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat in Central Jakarta installed to monitor traffic. The Jakarta Police have installed CCTV cameras in 10 locations as part of the electronic traffic law enforcement (ETLE) system to prevent traffic violations, including not wearing seat belts, using a mobile phone while driving, speeding and odd-even license plate infringements.(JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
Ride-hailing driver Suryono knows that it is dangerous and prohibited by law to check his smartphone while driving. Still, he often casually checks his device for incoming orders or to contact a passenger he is about to pick up.
But on Monday, he made sure to place his phone on the dashboard of his car instead of holding it with one hand while passing Jl. Sudirman and Jl. Thamrin in Central Jakarta.
“I know the Jakarta Police have a new advanced ETLE system. It’s too risky to hold on to my phone; I don’t want to be caught and get fined,” the 37-year-old said, referring to new electronic traffic law enforcement (ETLE) system applied to Jakarta’s main roads.
Suryono now calls his passengers with a hands-free headset to avoid being fined Rp 750,000 (US$53) or having his car locked up for three months for violating the 2009 Traffic Law.
The Jakarta Police have upgraded their e-ticketing system with more advanced features that aim to reduce traffic violations and boost transparency.
With the help of the city administration, the Jakarta Police installed 12 enhanced traffic cameras at 10 different locations in April, namely at footbridges located near the Senayan traffic circle, Jakarta Police headquarters in Semanggi, the Tourism Ministry, the Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Ministry and Plaza Gajah Mada, as well as an elevated road near Sudirman Station and BNI City station, the Arjuna Wijaya statue traffic circle, the Sarinah-Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) intersection and the Sarinah-Starbucks intersection.
The new high-definition cameras are able to capture a vehicle’s cabin in detail, including whether the driver is using their smartphone while driving, not wearing a seatbelt or is going over the speed limit.
When the system was first implemented last November, it could only capture the license plate of motorists who ignored traffic lights and signs.
The first day of the implementation of the new ETLE system on Monday inspired more orderly traffic at the intersection in front of Sarinah shopping mall in Central Jakarta, with cars and buses lining up neatly at the red light.
The ETLE system boasts three primary features, namely an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera, a checkpoint camera and a speed radar.
The ANPR camera can capture the vehicle’s license plate number, synchronize it with a vehicle database and determine the driver’s violation. The checkpoint camera can further elaborate on the kind of violation, such as whether the driver violated the odd-even plate number rule, did not wear a safety belt or used a mobile phone while driving.
The speed radar, meanwhile, is connected to the checkpoint camera to detect a vehicle’s speed in real time. Its sensor sends out a notification if a vehicle exceeds the speed limit.
“These cameras are [state of the art]. They can also capture the driver’s face clearly,” Jakarta Police traffic law enforcement unit head Comr. Muhammad Nasir told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
He said the new system had significantly reduced traffic violations by up to 100 percent in areas where the cameras were installed.
“There was a drastic decrease from 600 violators per day to only 60,” he said, adding that within hours of implementation on Monday, the Jakarta Police had detected hundreds of violations through the system.
As of Saturday, the police had captured more than 12,000 traffic violators through the system since November. Some 2,830 vehicle owners have paid their fine. At least 2,700 vehicle registration certificates (STNK) have been blocked because their owners failed to respond to confirmation letters. The rest, meanwhile, are still going through legal proceedings.
Nasir further said the police and the city administration planned to install up to 81 additional cameras in 37 locations across the city.
The Jakarta Police traffic division’s STNK unit head, Comr. Arif Fazlurrahman, said the new advanced features were not only expected to encourage motorists to follow traffic laws but also change the rather negative image of the police. “We have been always portrayed negatively as having a habit of [arbitrarily] ticketing motorists.”
There was no immediate plan to reduce the number of traffic officers patrolling the streets, but the Jakarta Police would evaluate the current figures.
“In the future, traffic police personnel in the field would not focus on enforcement but on security and traffic management,” Arif added.
A team would first analyze the captured footage before referring to a database of Jakarta vehicle owners. Tickets are then sent to the addresses stated on the alleged violator’s STNK. Information on the time, place and type of violation and a photo of the violation will be attached to the ticket.
Upon receiving their ticket, alleged violators are expected to submit a response to the Jakarta Police or on the ETLE website, etle-pmj.info, or by reporting directly to an ETLE post on Jl. MT Haryono No. 6 within seven days to receive a letter of confirmation.
The police will then send a final ticket once a confirmation letter is received. A fine must be paid within seven days of the date stated on the ticket unless an appeal is filed. Police will block the STNK of vehicle owners who fail to settle their ticket. (das)
