et all...

Be careful when you travel on the Puncak roads. Let me tell you from my own experience.

You are suddenly overtaken by a motorcycle or two, and you will be told by guys along the roadside that "smoke" was coming from your wheels. Very conveniently, there will be a few repair shops (bengkels) that you will find.

At that time, I was driving a Kia Carnival and Lo and Behold...they have the spare parts needed.

What happened? Those riders passing you squirted oil to your wheels which then produced the smoke.

After paying a hefty sum, I later realized the scam.

So, when you travel up Puncak, look at your rear view mirror, and if perchance you observe a couple of bikes wanting to overtake you...reduce speed, roll down your side windows and give them a dirty look. You'll save a lot of money.

@Splodge

Your comparative road death tolls are submitted, along with your comments with the best intentions. I have many reasons to question Indonesian statistics e.g. at the last elections it was apparent that the population was an estimate with a factor of ~5% . . . .the bean counters were guessing. The same applies to the road toll.

A few years ago I drove Jalan Raya Merak for the "ferry" to my Lombok destination. The end of the toll had WC facilities, plus an "Ambulance" with only a stretcher to collect dead/injured from accidents predicted on the day. To my horror there were already a dozen graves dug, ready to put into action the 24 hour turnaround! Heaven knows how the impending deaths were accounted for. Sorry, the stats are a guesstimate!

The same applies to stats for religious and state holidays. With good purpose, the numbers are published, but they are only an estimate. Notwithstanding, you make a very valid point, in the right direction.

While I agree with the sentiments expressed that it is amazing that more people aren't killed on Indonesian roads, 16.2 people die per 100,000 head of population here in Indonesia. To put this into perspective, the UK has 3.59 deaths per 100,000 which means that 4 times as many people die in Indonesia than England. Mind you, Eritrea has 48 deaths per 100,000 so, in retrospect, Indonesia isn't that bad all things considered.

@WebEd

Can you please give the latest developments on this story /

very sad, 'lots of we will do..' lots of blame and finger pointing, the forgotten until the next time...