"One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic." in driving context.

A well known quote from Joseph Stalin, "One death is a tragedy; a million is a statistic." is appropriate to describe how dreadful each traffic accident is. It could happen to anyone, anywhere and anytime. For some people who lost their family members, traffic accident is considered as an unacceptable fate and tragedy. But for Police department, it is not only a statistical number that should be reported in an annual report, but also an additional case that should be resolved.

Almost every day, mass media serves us with “vulgar” information and images on traffic accident. A few example reported on Serambi Indonesia such as “traffic accident, 3 death and 9 injured” (May 22, 2011), “Pijay’s woman death hit by car” (May 14, 2011). There is much more similar information which is reported on mass media. We might have hundreds of questions on this issue. They may include several basic questions as follow: Why do traffic accidents easily happen in our province compare to other province or state? What are the factors that cause them? Does civilization have a profound effect to abide the traffic signs?

This short article may not be able to answer all the above mention questions; at least, it tries to address several causes and policy interventions. According to Aceh Police Chief Iskandar Hasan, the number of traffic violations in 2009 was 41.129 cases. Whereas, the traffic accident cases recorded as much as 622 cases, where 511 people died, 411 had minor injured, and 577 were seriously injured. Similarly, in 2010, Police department recorded traffic violations were 41.278 cases, traffic accidents were 806 cases; 639 people died, 524 had minor injured, and 649 were seriously injured (Waspada Online, 23 April 2011). Stalin was right; the number of traffic accidents is just a statistical data which compare the number of previous and current year accident even though he did not say exact word on this issue. Regardless to say, although some prevention methods have been implemented, the number of accident keeps growing.

We may revisit some factors that cause the traffic violations and accidents. First, increasing number of new motorcycles and cars in Aceh is not balanced with the widening or building new road. As reported in Serambi Indonesia (07/01/2010), the additional new motorcycles and cars were as many as 123.496 units. Motorcycles alone recorded the sale 120.341 units. But, the new road has not been built accordingly.

Second, new technology devices also contribute positively to increase the traffic accidents. We might have seen some people were texting and reading text messaging while driving. This behavior increases distraction and concentration. A new study found that the collision risk was 23 times greater when the drivers texted than not texting (Richtelm M, NYtimes July 27, 2009).

Third is speeding and traffic signs. Even though the road in Aceh is not quite wide and divides into two traffics, speeding is a common view. We witness how night bus service is driven at the speed more than 100 – 120 KM/Hour. A small distraction can lead to a fatal accident. Moreover, street racing among the youth also happen everywhere. It does not only disturb the motorists but also the community along the road side. Regarding the traffic signs, many people also violate the traffic through running the red lights. The author has also never seen the stop sign installed at the junctions.

Fourth, pothole is also another important factor that causes accident. The road quality in Aceh is appropriately to be questioned. Many potholes can be found on the state and provincial roads even after few months of construction. In some places, the villagers plant a banana tree on the road to express their anger to the road quality. Also, it takes longer time to fix the potholes.

Fifth, animal crossing. Along the state and provincial roads either in urban or rural area, animal crossing is a familiar view. In fact, they are not the wild animals, but the cattle that are grassing along the road sides. Many people never expect when the animals cross the road, therefore they are unable to avoid the accident. In several district such as Pidie and Pidie Jaya, people named the district as “the longest barn” because the cattle grasses on the side road all day long. Perhaps, Gade Salam head of Pidie Jaya district was desperate with the cattle, until finally he shot to death 2 cows.

Six, an inappropriate behavior of young man and young couple also contributes to the accident. Sulaiman Tripa (Serambi Indonesia, March 3, 2010) wrote that coupling style of young couple while driving, especially on motorcycle, tends to touch “The secret” of each other. He also added that juvenile delinquency is more prevalent and whoever has the “power” will dominate the road.

Finally, according to seriousaccidents.com, there are some other factors that cause the accident such as reckless driving, rain, drunk driving, teenagers driving, night driving, design defects, unsafe lane change, wrong-way driving, improper turn, tailgating, under drug influencing, ice, snow, road rage, drowsy driving, tire blowout, fog, and deadly curve. The author will not go into detail to discuss those factors. Some factors are not applicable in our province.

Ying and Kim (2003) proposed several policy interventions such as enforcement of penalties for seven risky driving behaviors, including drunk driving and speeding, installation of traffic-monitoring cameras, financial rewards for citizens who reported traffic violations, introduction of a road safety evaluation system, correction of accident black spots in existing roads, and road safety education programs.

We believe that law enforcement is not only necessary toward a civilize traffic, but also essential to minimize the number of traffic accident. But, we also want the rules should also be applied to whoever wants to obtain the driving license, such as by going through the written and road tests. The real action to promote safety driving by police department, through socialization at high school level, giving away the helmet, and others, should be given high appreciation. To be more professional, the police should also be equipped with the radar which is able to detect the speed limit violators and capacity building. After all, all traffic violation cases should not be solved personally on the spot without going through the court process. We also encourage the government to balance the infrastructure development with additional new cars and seriously implement the qanun on uncared cattle. Finally, with the consideration of traffic accidents, the author strongly supports the plan to build the high way from Banda Aceh – Medan.