Some intersections in Jakarta and other major cities are now equipped with speakers, which are used by traffic officers who monitor the intersections on live CCTV feeds to directly address misbehaving drivers. The theory is that publicly shaming traffic violators can be a more effective deterrent than the vague threat of a ticket, but it appears that some drivers still have absolutely no shame and would rather bring danger to themselves and others than obey road laws.
Recently, the Bogor Regency Traffic Agency posted a video on its official Instagram page showing one such driver.
(Warning: Watching this video might cause one to rage)
While waiting at a red light, the driver can be seen having taken his motorcycle far past the legal line for vehicles and into a zebra crossing (as many motorcyclists in Indonesia often do in order to get an insignificant split-second head start). An officer, through a speaker, can be heard telling the motorcyclist to back up his vehicle.
Instead of complying, the motorcyclist calmly takes a drag of his already lit cigarette, to which the officer then says, “the gentleman who is smoking, do not smoke while driving, sir. The ash could be dangerous for other drivers. Butt out. Please back up your vehicle and butt out the cigarette.” The officer also mentioned that the motorcyclist’s helmet straps were unfastened.
The motorcyclist’s stubborn defiance then escalates to unprecedented levels of assholery as he continues to drive forward, despite the red light, using his hand to gesture to vehicles who had the right of way to stop so that he can drive through. Luckily for him, nobody was hurt.
While this may be one isolated incident, the reality is that violations exhibited by this motorcyclist are common on roads in Indonesia. Poor law enforcement — particularly in regards to the police’s habit of only carrying out seasonal operations cracking down on certain types of violations instead of cracking down on all violations, at all times — as well as the selfish attitudes of many drivers in the country (many of whom may have obtained their licenses through illegal means) means that Indonesian roads will continue to be unsafe regardless of the technology policing it.
