REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA --  A person who drives while smoking must be sanctioned, according to the Indonesian Consumers Foundation (YLKI). It can endanger both the safety of the individual and those around, YLKI Chief Executive Tulus Abadi said in a written statement in Jakarta on Wednesday.

YLKI noted that traffic accidents mostly occur due to human-related factors. "The number of traffic accidents in Indonesia is very worrisome and so are the victims who die due to the accidents," Abadi remarked, adding that no less than 30 thousand people in Indonesia die in vain every year owing to traffic accidents.

According to Abadi, the most dominant cause of traffic accidents is the human factor, and 76 percent of the accidents involved two-wheeler motor vehicles.

"Seeing that the human factor is a dominant cause of traffic accidents, Abadi said the police's efforts to impose a sanction on drivers, who use their cellular phones or smoke while driving, must be understood and be highly supported," he stated.

Smoking bans in private vehicles have been enacted to protect passengers from exposure to secondhand smoke and to increase road traffic safety by preventing the driver from being distracted by the act of smoking.

Private vehicles are used by individuals for personal transportation. Smoking bans in private vehicles are less common than bans extended to means of public transport or vehicles used during work.

The acts of looking for, reaching for, and then lighting cigarettes can considerably distract the driver.

Cigarette stubs thrown out of a window pose a serious fire threat. Some serious traffic accidents are known to have been caused by a lit cigarette.

"Hence, the police's effort to enforce the law regarding it, sociologically and/or psychologically, is factual, especially since most traffic accidents involve users of two-wheeled vehicles. Hence, the sanction should be imposed consistently," he emphasized.

Ikuti Whatsapp Channel Republika