Police Change Schedule for Road Shoulder Usage Permits on Inner-City Toll Road

KatadataOTO – The Metro Jaya Regional Police Traffic Directorate has changed the permitted usage times for the toll road shoulder during the fasting month. Under this policy, they have moved the time forward by up to one hour from the normal schedule.

With this, the rule allowing the use of the shoulder to reduce congestion, which previously started at 18:00 WIB, now begins at 17:00 WIB. Meanwhile, this access will still end at 20:00 WIB.

"After conducting an evaluation, especially during Ramadan, congestion has been occurring in the afternoon, particularly on the inner-city toll road. Therefore, we have moved the permitted use of the shoulder from 18:00 WIB to 17:00 WIB," said the Director of Traffic for the Metro Jaya Regional Police, Police Commissioner Latif Usman, as reported by Antara (12/03).

Latif mentioned that the earlier start time for using the toll road shoulder is due to a shift in peak congestion hours. This is consistent with the monitoring by the Metro Jaya Regional Police Traffic Directorate since the beginning of the fasting month.

Photo : KatadataOTO

Traffic congestion occurs in the afternoon or just before breaking the fast due to makeshift markets selling takjil (iftar snacks) at several points. However, after the time for breaking the fast, the congestion eases.

Beware of Sleep Deprivation During the Fasting Month

Besides congestion, another concern is the condition of drivers while on the road. This is because there are worries that they may be sleep-deprived, which affects driving safety.

Sony Susmana, Training Director of Safety Defensive Consultant Indonesia, revealed that to avoid congestion, people generally leave earlier. Unfortunately, this step is not accompanied by going to bed earlier than usual.

“Getting six to eight hours of sleep at night is often not optimally utilized. As a result, the body feels weak, but fasting is usually blamed, which is actually wrong,” he told KatadataOTO (04/03).

Photo : Antara

In fact, driving while sleep-deprived can lead to a loss of alertness, drowsiness, and falling asleep. Consequently, the risk of an accident increases compared to when a driver is well-rested.

To avoid this, drivers are advised to go to bed earlier so their rest schedule can be more regular. He also urged them to readjust their travel schedules to avoid being affected by congestion.