Based on data from the National Police's Traffic Corps, although the incidence of accidents declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of accidents increased to 103,645 in 2020–2021.
"Road accidents caused 25,266 casualties, with material losses reaching Rp246 billion," Secretary of the Directorate General of Land Transportation at the Ministry of Transportation Marta Hardisarwono said during the FGD in Jakarta.
The losses included the handling of 117,913 people with minor injuries and 10,553 people with serious injuries.
The highest number of traffic accidents involved motorcycles (73 percent), followed by freight transportation (12 percent), public transportation (8 percent), passenger cars (3 percent), and non-motorized vehicles (2 percent).
Freight transportation on land, which still dominates up to 90 percent, was one reason for the high number of accidents, Hardisarwono noted.
In addition, it also caused other problems such as congestion, over dimension over loading (ODOL), infrastructure damage, and air pollution, she said.
"However, we are currently concerning on ODOL, which causes many impacts on other problems," she informed.
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The Directorate General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation is currently focusing on handling the ODOL problem, she said.
A number of strategies have been implemented to this end, such as normalizing motorized vehicles, mandating the use of Electronic Pass Test Certificates (BLU-e) for motorized vehicles, as well as encouraging the implementation of a safety management system for public transport companies.
The government is also socializing and collecting data on companies or transportation vehicles that are suspected of ODOL and building safety partnerships.
"Actually, we have carried out the ODOL handling process since 2017, but these five points are our focus at this time," Hardisarwono said.
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Translator: Ade Irma J, Resinta S
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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