Police kick of their two-week intensive traffic-rule-following period, Operation Zebra on Wednesday.
The operation will target careless driving, improper documentation, illegal parking, and people driving motorcycles without helmets from Nov. 1 to 14. But it being Bali, an exception will be made to motorcycle riders wearing udeng, the traditional headband worn by Balinese Hindu men for the latter.
The director of Bali Police’s traffic unit, Supt. AA Made Sudana said those wearing udeng while driving will not be punished thanks to Article 4 paragraphs 1 and 2 of a Bali Governor decree, Number 217 of 1989, concerning the usage of helmets for motorcycle drivers and their passengers.
As long as riders are within a 10 kilometer radius from their place of prayer. Known as the “Island of a Thousand Temples,” we’d have to say it’s easier to be within a 10 kilometers radius of a temple in Bali than it is to be outside of one.
For that reason, because of the impracticality of determining how far any given spot is from a place of worship, the exception is made if the motorcycle is going less than 40 kilometers per hour, says Sudana.
“The regulation explains that riders who wear custom clothing get exemption within a 10 kilometer radius with a maximum speed of 40 kilometers per hour,” Sudana said, as quoted by Tribun Bali.
Regardless, Sudana says he insists his officers remind people of just how important it is to wear helmets while driving on major roads.
