Traffic cameras too soon for RI roads: Expert

Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The idea of the Directorate General for Land Transportation to install electronic monitoring equipment to improve traffic obedience will receive cool response from the public unless the government can match-up vehicle owner identification, observers said.

Indonesian Transport Society (MTI) chairman Bambang Susantono said Friday the suggested electronic enforcement (e-enforcement) is expected to improve driver obedience and decrease accidents -- but it would not be effective by itself.

"The electronic enforcement equipment will capture the registration numbers of vehicles," Bambang said.

"But the vehicle registration (system) in Indonesia is in a mess -- so this must be first improved."

The Directorate General for Land Transportation wants to adopt e-enforcement into the new traffic bill.

But the Directorate aims to book the owner of the vehicle caught violating a traffic rule, regardless of who was driving at the time.

Bambang said using e-enforcement to catch traffic offenders before sending a ticket to the vehicle owner's home has only worked well in other countries because the vehicle administration systems in those countries is effective.

"But it's hard for local officials to trace the real owner of vehicles here," he said.

"Many people trade-in their cars or motorcycles and neglect to update the status of ownership."

"Enforcing an immediate update on a vehicle's ownership status should come before the imposition of the electronic monitoring.

"However, this project is expected to decrease accidents on the road because people feel that they are being monitored," he said.

Bambang also said the cost for electronic enforcement should be embedded in vehicle administration costs, so owners did not have to pay more.

MTI said traffic obedience in Indonesia has been better in the past.

"Vehicle drivers should be more ethical.

"People become less ethical because the roads become more congested and there is a pressurized environment for traffic violation."

Bambang said the term "pressurized environment" is used by sociologists to describe road conditions that encourage drivers to "follow a sinner" -- especially if that driver is successfully breaking traffic laws and getting away.

"The follow-the-sinner condition means someone feels they will suffer a loss if they don't follow a violator," Bambang said.

Transportation observer and former member of the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI) Agus Pambagyo said sophisticated tools used for e-enforcement would be useless without immediate follow-up and a well organized booking system.

Many people get their driver's license illegally and this can create even more accidents on the road, Agus said.

"The issuer of the license, in this case the police, should also be examined to help create better traffic order," he said.

YLKI senior member Sudaryatmo said electronic enforcement would help reduce road accidents -- but basic administration issues needed to be tackled first.

"Indonesia still has a problem with compulsory vehicle safety inspection," Sudaryatmo said.

"The government must look also at the safety of public transportation in Indonesia," he said.