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As traffic congestion approaches critical mass ahead of the annual Idul Fitri holiday flight from the capital, police officers are getting fitted with a zippy new secret weapon — roller skates — to get around the gridlock, Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal said on Monday.

Jusman said the skates would enable police to respond more quickly to congestion and accidents.

The operation would be “coordinated at the regional police headquarters,” he said.

It remains unclear whether any training in roller skating would be provided.

Jusman said the officers on wheels are expected to help reduce congestion in key areas such as along Java’s northern coastal highway. “If people were stuck in traffic for three or four hours in the past,” he said, “this year we hope it won’t be longer than two hours.”

Jusman said a team from the elite Mobile Brigade would also keep an eye on traffic from the air by helicopter.

“We will keep working closely with the National Police to monitor stations, terminals and other entry points,” he said.

SY Wenas, deputy chief of operations from the National Police headquarters, said this year about 123,000 officers would be deployed across the country to monitor security during the holiday’s peak period, which lasts from seven days before Idul Fitri to seven days after.