TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The number of student traffic violations in Jakarta between January and September reached 52.868 cases or rose by 46.5 percent relative to the same period last year.
Adj. Sr. Comr. Budiyanto, chief of Law Enforcement Sub-directorate, Jakarta Metro Police Traffic Directorate, said that the increase in traffic violations can be attributed to lack of parental supervision. “Parents often allow their children to drive vehicles despite not having driver’s license [SIM],” he said yesterday, October 17.
Jakarta Metro Police released last Thursday traffic violence data throughout January to September. The data shows a 38.58 percent spike in traffic violations year-on-year, from 716,166 to 978,151 cases.
Budiyanto added that students have been guilty of finding loopholes so they can drive vehicles. Moreover, lack of monitoring at school and flourishing illegal parking lots around the school have contributed to rising student traffic violations.
To anticipate a further surge in student traffic violations, police plan to hold road safety education at schools. “We prefer educating students to punish them,” Budiyanto said.
State Senior High School SMAN 78 deputy principal Zainuddin said that the school allows students who have driver’s license to bring motorcycles or cars to school. According to him, students who already have driver’s license are deemed emotionally stable enough to drive vehicles. “We cannot ban students who already have driver’s license from riding motorcycles to school,” he said.
However, some students often ride motorcycles to school despite not having driver’s license. Fauzan Fachrul Rozzy Insani, for example, said he doesn’t have driver’s license since he is still 16. “Other students [who bring vehicles to school] don’t have driver’s license either,” he said.
KORAN TEMPO
