Jakarta, July 15 (Antara) - Traffic accidents have been the 'major killer' in the annual exodus of Eid travelers during the Eid festivities that follow the fasting month.
To avoid the falling of many victims and reduce traffic accident cases, the National Police this month is launching security operations dubbed as "Ketupat Operation" from July 10 to July 25, 2015.
The operation is held to coincide with the Eid traveler's exodus, namely one week before and one week after the Eid D-Day on Friday July 17.
Until Monday or four days before (D-4) the Eid-al Fitr or Lebaran, however, a total of 152 people have been killed in 723 accidents across the country," Brig. Gen. Agus Rianto, the Public Information Bureau chief of the National Police (Polri), said on Tuesday.
He said on D-4, there were 207 traffic accidents killing 60 people, seriously injuring 148 and causing 169 others to suffer minor injuries.
From Friday (July 10) or D-7 up to Monday (July 13) or D-4, the total dead victims had reached 152 with 251 seriously injured and 809 others suffered from minor injuries.
In order to secure the Eid travelers, the National Police is deploying 82,538 personnel during the 16-day-long "Ketupat Operation," from July 10 to 25, 2015, to secure the Idul Fitri exodus of travelers heading to their hometowns to celebrate the Islamic festivity.
In addition to the police officers, the operation also involves 12,761 military personnel and 50,377 personnel from other related institutions, Agus Rianto said.
They are deployed in 3,030 security posts and 1,083 public service posts set up across the country during the operation.
Regardless of police efforts to secure travelers, accidents continued to take place. In the accident involving a passenger bus playing on Palikanci toll road in Cirebon, West Java, on Tuesday for example killed 11 victims.
West Java Police Command spokesman Senior Commissioner Sulistyo Pudjo Hartono stated that the Rukun Sayur bus driven by Larto (35), a resident of Karanganyar, Central Java, suddenly swerved to the right and hit a road divider, killing 11 passengers.
The bodies of all the dead victims were taken to the local Gunung Jati Hospital while eight passengers with serious injuries and 27 others sustaining minor injuries were taken to the local Mitra Plumbon Hospital.
The police could not as yet ascertain the real cause of the accident, as the investigation is still ongoing.
Therefore, National Police Chief General Badrodin Haiti said on Thursday last week the police will focus on reducing traffic accidents as part of its "Ketupat Operation 2015," launched to secure the Eid holidays.
"I urge personnel from all police ranks and agencies involved in the operation to seriously implement anticipatory measures that have been planned to reduce traffic accidents," he stated during a roll call.
He shed light on the same operation conducted last year that had successfully reduced the number of traffic accidents as compared to the previous year.
In 2014, most of the traffic accidents occurred in the northern coastal routes involving motorcycles and passenger cars.
The transportation ministry has forecast the number of homecoming travelers to increase by 1.9 percent to reach 20,002,724 from 19,618,530 recorded in 2014.
Due to the increase in the number of travelers, traffic jams may possibly occur, and the crime rates may increase.
In the meantime, in anticipation of traffic accident, state-owned insurance company PT Jasa Raharja has expressed its readiness to make advance payment to hospitals to cover the treatment costs of those who meet with traffic accidents on Eid homecoming and return trips.
"If there is an accident case, it will be attended to within 24 hours. We will provide advance payment to hospitals to cover the cost of treating injured persons," President Director of PT Jasa Raharja Budi Setyarso said last Saturday.
The provision of advance payment, he noted, is meant to reduce the financial burden on drivers and passengers who get injured in traffic accidents.
"We will closely monitor all trips so that we know when travelers get injured in traffic accidents. We have joined hands with hospitals to ensure that victims do not have to make any payment," he explained.
Until June 2015, Jasa Raharja paid Rp579.7 billion in compensation to the victims of traffic accidents, including the general public, a marked increase from Rp573.9 billion paid during the same period last year.
Between January and June 2015, Jasa Raharja's highest compensation for deaths was Rp352.4 billion, Rp217.6 billion for injuries, Rp9 billion for the disabled and the handicapped, and Rp556 million for burials.
However, there has been an annual decline in Jasa Raharja's compensation amounts. Its compensation paid in 2012 amounted to Rp1.38 trillion, while it disbursed Rp1.28 trillion in 2013 and Rp1.2 trillion in 2014.***4***(T.A014/b003/B003)
(T.SYS/A/BESSR/Bustanuddin) 15-07-2015 23:57:24 |
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