"Vehicles carrying items beyond their capacity cause damage to the facilities because they carry unreasonable amounts of weight," Head of Public Relations of the ministry's Directorate General of Land Transportation Pitra Setiawan noted in a statement received here on Friday.
Setiawan highlighted the issues caused by ODOL vehicles, including safety hazards, as well as the huge amounts that had to be paid for the maintenance of roads.
"Accidents involving ODOL trucks occurred a lot of times, with some of them even leading to (deaths) as well as significant material losses, and together, we have to address this immediately," he emphasized.
He pointed out that annually, the state had to pay an additional Rp43.45 trillion (US$2.9 billion) to repair damages resulting from operating ODOL trucks.
Setiawan remarked that the Zero ODOL policy was implemented in 2023 after undergoing several processes and prior considerations. In 2022, the policy did not take off due to economic and social issues revolving around the scarcity of cooking oil, he stated.
Hence, several programs were pursued to address the relevant problems first before the policy can be fully implemented, he remarked.
He listed several aspects that the policy covered, such as education, optimized operation of a unit that will keep track of the vehicles' weight, optimized regular vehicle feasibility inspections, as well as issuance of warning and sanctions.
If a truck is caught violating the policy, as in carrying items that can pose a danger, threat, or harm, then the officers will bar them from driving ahead, transfer away the load of the vehicle, and then impose sanctions on them as per applicable law and regulations, he noted.
"The implementation of Zero ODOL 2023 will take the situation into account, (such as) the domestic economic, social, and political dynamics," he remarked.
The Transportation Ministry underscored the issue of ODOL trucks in their program, as listed in their road map. The ministry, along with their relevant stakeholders, consistently promotes the Zero ODOL program for five years.
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Translator: Ahmad Wijaya, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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