TheIKNPost.com — The police listed several causes of accidents, including driver negligence, bad weather and fatigue. However, according to observers there are other causes, such as poor road conditions, lack of rest facilities, inadequate mass transportation services and minimal law enforcement on the roads.
In the accident that killed sisters Najwa and Aisya, the car they were traveling in did not have permission to be used as a means of paid transportation. Additionally, the car is supposed to carry a maximum of nine people, not 12.
During the investigation, the police found that the car driver had been transporting passengers to and from Jakarta for four days with very little rest. The driver is known to have fallen asleep while driving and died in the accident.
On April 11, a bus carrying 32 passengers went off the road and fell into a ditch in the city of Batang, Central Java, after the driver accidentally fell asleep. Eight passengers died in the incident and the bus driver was detained.
According to the regulations, long-distance buses are required to have two drivers, each of whom takes turns driving every four hours maximum.
“But authorities rarely carry out checks to see whether bus operators and drivers have met these requirements,” Darmaningtyas, head of the research institute Institute for Transportation Studies (INSTRAN) told CNA.
Djoko Setijowarno, a transportation expert from Soegijapranata University, Central Java, said the government also needs to build more rest facilities.
“There must be rest areas every few kilometers on toll roads and inter-city roads. Every terminal and tourist destination must also have a waiting room where drivers rest and sleep. And there must be officers who ensure that they make the best use of these facilities,” he said. CNA.
