0 Broken traffic lights and dangerous driving — a deadly mix

Indonesian-Australian holidaymaker Chandra was “t-boned’ off his motor scooter last week at the Kemenuh intersection in Gianyar. Traffic lights at this heavily used intersection have been broken for some months, despite four changes to the manual switching controller at a cost of US$5,000 per repair. “I had been warned of the risk at that intersection, so I was traveling really slow. A couple of cars had stopped to let me pass then ‘wham’, a motorbike slammed into me from the side, t-boning me,” says Chandra, who was lucky enough to walk away from the accident that never should have occurred. 

He said there were two factors involved in the accident — the first, non-active traffic lights at an intersection to a major road with high speed traffic, and second, the reckless driving of the other rider who overtook vehicles stopped for crossing traffic. According to a representative from the office of highways, Dinas Perhubungan, the issue of traffic lights is being addressed with four new digital traffic light systems to be installed mid year at several intersections, including Kemenuh. The second problem of reckless driving may be far more difficult to tackle until there is a deep shift in driver education and law enforcement. 

Outside a senior high school in rural Payangan, police officers halt oncoming traffic as a stream of teenagers speed out of the school gates on motor scooters. Most are not wearing helmets, carrying at least one pillion passenger and race each other within seconds of hitting the public road. How many of these students hold motor scooter licenses is unknown, however their driving without helmets and at high speeds is dangerous and illegal. Police who halt traffic to allow these students to whiz away from school are effectively aiding and abetting illegal driving behaviors and are teaching these kids that it is ok to drive recklessly.   

Scenes like these are in the sights of Gianyar police department traffic unit head Ibu Putu Sugiarti, who just started a three-month road safety campaign across the regency. “We have sent a letter to all police stations informing them that it is illegal to ride motor scooters without helmets and licenses. This is not allowed,” says Ibu Putu via telephone. She adds that wearing helmets is a lifesaver. “Do up the helmet until you hear the click,” says Ibu Putu, her message to the public going up on billboards throughout the regency. The police traffic unit is also targeting police led convoys, truck drivers and reckless driving in its road safety campaign, says Ibu Putu. 

Trucks using the Prof. Ida Bagus Mantra bypass must use the left lane and convoys of motorbikes, weddings or tourist buses headed up by police vehicles will no longer be tolerated, says Ibu Putu. This comes as good news to Volkswagen Club member and car enthusiast Wayan Artha of Ubud who says Bali’s roads have become so frightening he can no longer allow his son to ride a bicycle. “I think the roads of Bali are extremely dangerous these days. In the past, when I was in high school, I could ride my bicycle to Denpasar — the roads were potholed and rough, but there was little traffic. 

Now there are traffic jams and people become impatient. The government needs to stop the importation of cars and convoys have to be stopped. These convoys are for private people, so the police are not working for the public, but escorting private citizens as if they were important, like they are more important than the public,” says Wayan. Also seeing local roads as high risk is Kadek Ariani, who daily travels between Ubud and Tampak Siring. “The roads today are more dangerous than ever. I am always afraid of spilt sand on the road and that I will fall. The trucks are also so deadly — they take up the whole road and are speeding. They go so fast that it is really dangerous just to go to work each day,” says Kadek. 

While locals perceive traveling on Bali’s roads as a game of Russian roulette, visitors to the island seem unaware of danger. A sight often seen is of holidaymaking mothers on motor scooters with tiny babies strapped to their backs, a toddler gripping on behind and not one of them wearing a helmet. Others say Bali’s drivers are more polite than in Europe. Markus Krug, a 19-year-old on holiday from Germany, says he feels safer on Bali’s roads than on the high tech autobahns and local roads of home. “We have just done a ride from Legian to Mount Batur, across to Tirtagannga and now back down to Legian and I was surprised to feel that driving in Germany was actually more dangerous than here. 

There is more respect on the roads here. If someone is overtaking and they need to get back into the traffic, people let them in, but in Germany they are selfish and sometimes won’t give them the space. I did expect to see an accident here every five minutes, but the roads are safer than they look,” says Markus, who has an international license and wears a helmet. Friend Michael Stockton of England says he finds the roads of Bali fine. “I’ve had no scares really. But the people of Bali are fearless on the roads. 

We will be doing 60 kilometers an hour and suddenly there is a bike coming at us on the wrong side of the road with six kids on it being driven by a 10-year-old. So there are hazards, like dogs, potholes and these kids, so you need to concentrate all the time when driving here,” says Michael. While the risks taken by Bali’s drivers are extraordinary, its roads and traffic lights in some areas in states of disrepair and its police often complacent in law enforcement, there is a change coming. 

According to traffic control technician from the highways department Nurwidyaswanto, four new traffic lights in Kemenuh, Sukawati, Gianyar city and Semabaung will improve traffic flow and save lives, an issue he is passionate about. “Across the country, families never recover financially or emotionally from road accident deaths. Their lives are forever changed,” he says. Enforcement of road laws is also set to improve, says traffic police head Ibu Putu. She is adamant that police and drivers enforce and follow road laws and that motorcyclists always have their headlights on and wear helmets. “Do up your helmet until the click,” she insists.

source : the jakarta post