07/12/2020 News
RIGHT OF WAY - WHICH TYPES VEHICLES HAVE IT?
The road belongs to all road users: drivers on motorbikes, cars, buses, and trucks. This awareness is important to keep the traffic flow smooth and prevent aggressive driving or road rage.
But arrogance on the roads is not uncommon. This may prevent certain types of vehicles, such as ambulance and fire trucks, from getting to where they need to be because other road users refuse to give way.
In fact, ambulance and fire trucks have the right of way on the road and should always be prioritized. In Indonesia, Article 134 of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Transport afford the right of way to these vehicles:
a. Fire trucks en-route to fire scene;
b. Ambulance units transporting patients;
c. Emergency vehicles en-route to respond to a traffic accident;
d. Official vehicles of Indonesia’s leaders of public agencies;
e. Official vehicles of leaders of international organizations and foreign dignitaries during a state visit;
f. Funeral procession; and
g. Motorcade for special purposes, subject to approval of the Indonesian police
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Not only the right of way, the above vehicles are also allowed to use strobe lights, using red, blue, or yellow colours, and siren, as stipulated by Article 59 of the law.
The light colour and siren combination also have different meaning. Red or blue lights indicate vehicles with the right of way, while blue lights and siren are reserved for the Indonesian police. Meanwhile, read lights and siren are used by prisoner transport vehicle, the military escort, the red cross, emergency vehicles, and funeral procession.
Yellow lights represent a warning for other road users. Vehicles that use it are toll road patrol cars, traffic and transport authorities, public facility repair and maintenance vehicles, and special logistics vehicles.
At times, we may also see private vehicles using strobe lights and siren, despite not having the right of way. If you have one of those, consider removing them. In Indonesia, the authorities have the power to stop vehicles with strobe lights and siren; private vehicles who do not have the statutory privilege to have them may be impounded and the driver fined for traffic violation.
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