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Watatita: Let's Keep Our Roads Safe

Drawings by Alexia Cahyaningtyas

The streets of Jakarta are the busiest streets in the country, and they’re usually busy almost all the time. A common view that we see when we look out our car windows is a family on a motorcycle, with  most of the passengers not wearing helmets, or even worse, a child is actually standing up on the seat.    

It has been predicted that deaths due to road accidents will reach up to 65,000 by the year 2020 if this problem is not handled properly. Ninety percent of accidents involve motorcycles.  

This is caused by a number of reasons. Remember a couple of weeks ago I talked about how Indonesians use their creativity to find loopholes and shortcuts to get what they want, even though they’re breaking the law? Well, many people here choose to bribe the police to get their licences without even passing the driver’s tests. So we have people driving who have minimal skills, ignorant of the traffic laws and little experience in driving.     

Another reason why there are so many deaths/ injuries is because a lot of people don’t wear helmets or seat belts. I remember when I went to Solo, most people wore helmets while riding motorcycles. Don’t people value their lives  here anymore? It really worries me when I see a family on a motorcycle, and the father in front wearing a helmet, but the rest of his family aren’t. We also see so many gaping holes on the road, and they’re left there, ignored, so when it’s dark it is really dangerous for the people on motorcycles.     

Other reasons include people using their mobile phones while driving, driving under the influence, or  ignoring traffic laws. We never think something terrible like an accident could happen to us. While you still have the chance to protect yourself or family members, please do not ignore the importance of helmets and seatbelts – and please – people are supposed to sit down on a motorcycle, not stand up – unless you’re a professional daredevil.  

There is a system regarding driving licences but the implementation is very flexible. Indonesian drivers should learn what’s right and wrong, and have enough practice driving on dry and wet roads.      

Local governments should also set aside an adequate budget to fix the roads and not wait until lives are lost. Too many lazy minds here, people say “someone will fix it”, or “people can see that hole and they can avoid it”.    

It’s not just about saving your life or the lives of the ones you love, but also to keep our roads safe for everyone else too.

Jakarta Jungle follows the stories and views of individuals from every walk of life in our maddening, bustling, and colorful city.