Humans: The Primary Cause of Traffic Accidents

According to data from the National Criminal Information Center (Pusiknas) of the Indonesian National Police's Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim Polri), 148,798 traffic accidents were reported throughout 2023.

Of these, 94.63%, or 140,812 accidents, were caused by human error.

Furthermore, 5,320 cases (3.57%) were caused by vehicle malfunctions; 1,232 cases (0.82%) were due to road conditions, such as damaged, potholed, uneven, winding roads, and so on; and 155 cases (0.10%) were due to natural factors such as fog, floods, and others.

Meanwhile, 1,279 cases (0.85%) of traffic accidents had unknown causes.

Generally, the most frequent type of traffic accident in 2023 was vehicles losing control and veering to the left side of the road, with 19,245 cases.

Then there were 18,875 rear-end collisions, 17,578 head-on collisions, and 9,221 overtaking collisions.

Director of Traffic Accident Investigation of the Indonesian National Police's Traffic Corps (Korlantas Polri), Brigadier General Pol Raden Slamet Santoso, explained that traffic accidents generally begin with violations.

"Every accident is preceded by a violation; therefore, in traffic, let's avoid violations, whether intentional or unintentional," said Slamet, as reported on the Korlantas Polri website on Thursday, October 24, 2024.

The Indonesian National Police also recorded that all traffic accidents in 2023 resulted in 218,892 casualties. 180,739 suffered minor injuries, 22,190 died, and 15,963 suffered serious injuries.