The number of accidents during the Ketupat Operation 2018, from Wednesday (June 7) (H-8) to Monday (June 18) (H + 3), was 1,478 cases , or 30 percent, down compared to the same period in 2017.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The number of traffic accidents usually increases sharply during Eid Al-Ftri or Lebaran season, as millions of people heading to their hometowns to celebrate Eid festivities pack the roads.

However, the government has made its best to reduce the traffic accidents during this year`s Lebaran season through the launch of `Operation Ketupat 2018` by the Indonesian National Police (Polri).

The number of accidents during the Ketupat Operation 2018, from Wednesday (June 7) (H-8) to Monday (June 18) (H + 3), was 1,478 cases , or 30 percent, down compared to the same period in 2017.

"From H-8 to H + 3 Lebaran, the number of traffic accidents was recorded at 1,478 incidents, down 30 percent compared to that during the operation `Ramadniya Ops` in the previous year, which reached 2,110 incidents," Head of the Public Information Bureau of the National Police Brigadier General Mohammad Iqbal stated in a short message to ANTARA on Tuesday.

The victims of the accidents during the Operation Ketupat 2018 until H + 3 Lebaran also decreased compared to the death toll in `Ops Ramadniya 2017` until the day of Lebaran.

Iqbal remarked that the number of deaths in the `Ops Ketupat 2018` up to H + 3 Lebaran was recorded at 333 people, or down 59 percent, compared to the same period in 2017, which was 815 people.

He added that on H + 3 Lebaran, there was an increase in the return flow travelers through the Jakarta-Cikampek toll road by 60 percent from West Java and Central Java.

The Ketupat 2018 operation lasted for 18 days from June 7 to June 24, 2018. There were 177 thousand personnel, consisting of police and military (TNI) personnel, public order police (Satpol PP), firefighters, and other related agencies, which were alerted during the operation.

Police also prepared as many as 3,097 security posts throughout Indonesia during the implementation of Operation Ketupat 2018.

Before Lebaran, namely from June 7 to June 15, police recorded 1,154 Ramadan related traffic accidents all over the country. It was smaller 17 percent from 1,623 accidents the same period last year.

There were 242 dead victims in the accidents or 44 percent smaller than 616 in the same period in 2017, Police spokesman Ins. Gen. Setyo Wasisto said last Saturday.

The operation of new toll roads contributed partly to the decline in traffic accidents and death toll. Most of the accidents involved motorcyclists, Setyo said.

Form Jakarta alone millions of Muslims left for their home villages and towns to celebrate the Islamic holy days with relatives.

Setyo said the toll roads were crowded with many Muslims leaving cities or working places for home villages or towns and others on their way back from recreation places to the cities where they work .

Most of those visiting home villages or towns returned to their working places in big cities mainly Jakarta. A nongovernmental organization, Labor Institute Indonesia, lauded the government`s way of handling the brisk Eid al Fitr home-going (mudik) this year.

The management of this year`s Eid ul Fitr 1439 mudik improved from last year both in quantity and quality, secretary of the Institute Andy William Dijaga said in Jakarta on Saturday.

Earlier, up to three days before the D-Day of Lebaran (June 12) Police recorded 771 traffic accidents, which was down 19 percent from those last year, during their `Operation Ketupat 2018`.

"Up to H-3, there were 771 traffic accidents, down 19 percent compared to previous year`s `Operation Ramadniya,` which reached 1,117 incidents," Brigadier General Mohammad Iqbal, spokesman of the National Police Headquarters, stated in Jakarta last Wednesday.

Overall, there has been a reduction in the accidents recorded during the `Operation Ketupat 2018` until H-3 compared to Operation Ramadniya 2017, with the death toll reaching 163, or 41 percent. According to him, traffic accidents are dominated by driver fatigue factors.

He added that on H-3, there was an increase in the flow of people moving to West Java, Central Java, and East Java by 276 percent. "This is because it was a holiday for private firm employees," he stated.

He noted that on H-3, the vehicle flowing through the Merak Toll Road Gate was 25,702, or 341 percent higher than the normal day; vehicles through GT (toll gate) Ciawi was 22,199 vehicles, or up 8 percent; vehicles flowing through GT Cileunyi was 28,554, or up 79 percent; and via GT Cikarang Utama was 67,096, or up 675 percent.

This year, it is estimated that more than 19.5 million people have returned home to have family or friend reunions and to celebrate the festivities after fasting for one month.

Of the 19.5 million Lebaran travelers, some 6.39 million are estimated to be two-wheeled motor vehicle travelers, according to the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI).

In a press conference titled Lebaran 2018 Transportation, he explained, the number of travelers of two-wheeled vehicles is estimated at more than 6.39 million. Two-wheeled vehicles riders during the Lebaran exodus always contribute about 70 percent to the accident rate.

(A014/INE)
(T.A014/A/KR-BSR/A014)

Reporter: Andi Abdussalam
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2018