Last week, Jakarta’s top traffic cop caused a commotion when he told the media that any motorists caught smoking or listening to music while driving were violating the law and could be jailed for 3 month or fined IDR750K (US$55). Naturally, almost everybody found that idea ridiculous (including legal experts) and eventually the police issued a retraction regarding the smoking and music violations. However, they remain insistent that using GPS while driving is a no-go under the same law.
“The use of GPS or mobile phones [while driving] is prohibited, already there is a provision in Article 106. We will ticket,” Jakarta Metro Police Traffic Commissioner Halim Pagara said yesterday as quoted by Detik.
Article 106 refers to the a section in the 2009 Law on Road Traffic and Transportation, which states that all motorists must drive responsibly and “with absolute concentration”. This is the same article that police had previously said motorists who smoked or listened to music while driving were in violation of.
Article 283 of the same law says, “Any person who drives a vehicle on the road while carrying out other activities which leads to impaired concentration while driving may be punished with a maximum imprisonment of three months or a maximum fine of IDR750,000.
Police certainly have a point regarding drivers who use their mobile phones irresponsibly while driving, such as those who attempt to text while simultaneously steering (an act that is linked to higher accident rates than even drunk driving).
However, if a driver has a proper mobile phone holder on their motorcycle or car dash, then it is ridiculous to suggest that they are incapable of glancing at the GPS every so often without causing an accident. And for professional drivers, such as those working for taxi or ride-hailing app companies, using GPS while driving is (or should be) an essential part of their job.
Will the police pull back on their GPS ticketing talk, just as they did with the smoking and music claims? Well, we’re not going to turn off our GPS and wait in otherwise avoidable traffic to find out.
