TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Secretary General of the National Commission on Child Protection (Komnas Anak), Arist Merdeka Sirait, says the police have not been upholding the law on traffic well. He believes parents who give children their own personal transportation or allow their children to drive before having an official driving license must be punished.
"As law enforcers who uphold the law on traffic, the police have not been able to implement these policies well yet," he said on Monday.
Data from the commission shows that this year 40 traffic accidents involving underage teens occurred in the Metro Jaya Police department’s jurisdiction. All of these accidents indicate that the police have not been able to uphold the law well, especially considering these accidents were not followed up with official legal proceedings.
Metro Jaya Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto denied allegations that police neglect to monitor underagedrivers. He said the police conduct daily routine raids in order to curb the number of underage drivers on the streets.
Rikwanto added that the law states that an adult who violates the traffic code will have their driver’s license confiscated. However, if a child is caught driving, the police will confiscate the vehicle as evidence.
Komnas Anak commissioner M. Ihsan urged the police to take firm action against parents who let their children drive motor vehicles. Aside from confiscating the motor vehicle, Ihsan says these parents must be summoned and fined.
SUBKHAN | RIZKI PUSPITA SARI | EFRI R
