Jakarta – The Jakarta Police have stopped conducting traffic raids and started ticketing less as part of efforts to curtail the rapid spread of the fatal respiratory disease COVID-19.
"I have ordered my personnel to suspend traffic raids," Jakarta Police traffic director Sr. Cmr Sambodo Purnomo yogo said as reported by kompas.com on Thursday.
He also ordered his subordinates to put the brakes on handing out tickets to traffic violators. Traffic Police personnel, he said, would focus on pressing violations that put road users at risk, such as people driving on the wrong side of the road, using Transjakarta bus lanes and motorcyclists not wearing a helmet.
The decision was made to reduce the number of traffic violators packing the district courts for their violations.
"We want to avoid crowds in the courts to prevent [the spread] of COVID-19," Sambodo said, adding that his directorate would strengthen better education and warning for road users to ensure orderly traffic. (trn)