JAKARTA: The National Police have so far recorded a sharp drop of nearly 80 per cent in traffic accidents over the annual tradition of mudik (exodus) this year compared to previous years, with data released on Wednesday (April 10) showing a total of 301 such incidents resulting in 26 deaths from April 4 to 10.
In comparison, 1,457 accidents and 189 fatalities were recorded in the week leading up to Aidilfitri last year.
Major accidents during this year’s holiday include a multi-vehicle crash on Monday involving a minibus, an SUV and a bus at Kilometer Marker (KM) 58 of the busy Jakarta-Cikampek Toll Road in West Java that killed at least 12 people.
The accident occurred when the minibus was traveling down a temporary lane in a counterflow system, prompting the police to evaluate the traffic management policy.
Over the weekend, a traffic jam reportedly spanning more than 10km formed on the highway leading to Banten’s Merak Port, a key freight and ferry port for ships crossing the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra.
However, the congestion had eased by Monday. Authorities have reminded travellers to observe road safety and comply with the Aidilfitri traffic policies during their trips back from their hometowns to Jakarta and other big cities
This year’s mudik return traffic is expected to peak early next week.
“We encourage [people] to only rest at dedicated rest areas, but please do not stay there for more than 30 minutes [to avoid congestion]. If the rest area is full, travellers can exit the toll road and rest at other places on arterial roads,” National Police spokesperson Harry Goldenhardt said on Wednesday, as quoted by news portal Detik.com.
To ease the volume and flow of mudik return traffic, authorities have implemented several temporary measures, including one-way traffic, counterflow lanes and the odd-even licence plate policy to restrict travel on certain days.
During the departure and return mudik travel period over Idul Fitri 2023, police recorded a total of 3,561 accidents and 534 recorded, a decrease from 4,333 accidents and 745 fatalities over Aidilfitri 2022. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
