Camelia Pasandaran – Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi frustratingly joked on Tuesday that exhausted mudik travelers could be given illegal ecstasy pills to keep them awake during the long slog back and forth from their hometowns during the annual exodus.

His remarks seemed born more of exasperation than earnestness, made to journalists after a cabinet meeting at the State Palace.

Freddy said that he could not do much regarding accidents as many were caused by drivers suffering from exhaustion who refused to stop and rest.

"If sleepy people caused the accident, what should I say," Freddy said. "What can I explain if the travelers were tired. If the [public transportation] vehicles used were broken, we could punish the companies. But if people are tired, should we give them ecstasy pills to prevent them from being tired?"

The National Police recorded 4,006 accidents between Aug. 23 and Sept. 4. Idul Fitri, the holiday marking the end of Ramadan, fell on Aug. 31 this year.

The number of accidents was up by a third from last year's figure of 3,010, but the number of fatalities was down – 661 compared to 746 last year, according to the police. Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said on Monday that the number of fatalities was "around 700."

Freddy said that most of the accidents involved motorcycles. "Most of the accidents were motorcycle accidents," Freddy said. "Though we kept on advising motorcyclists to use the existing facilities, such as transporting the motorcycle via train or ship, if they insisted to go home by motorcycle we could not push them."

Freddy said that in the future, the government could impose stricter regulations for motorcycle travelers during mudik. "We will push them to stop at the rest area to be checked whether they are tired or not," Freddy said. "We will enlarge the rest areas."

Freddy also said that safer and more efficient mudik travel in the future would depend on the work that regional governments put into their transportation systems.

"After getting off at the terminal, the travelers need to go to villages, and it needs transportation facilities," Freddy said. "It is a national responsibility as well as a local government responsibility. We cannot expect change from the central government without the help of local government."