Truck Accident Repeated, Observer Says Driver is Not the Only One to Blame

JAKARTA - Fatal accidents involving freight transport cannot be constantly simplified as a brake blong, broken tires, or driver negligence. Transportation observer Djoko Setijowarno assessed that the problem was much deeper, ranging from weak supervision, ODOL truck practices, to the responsibility of companies and cargo owners.

Djoko said that every truck accident often stopped at the narrative of human error. In fact, the driver is at the bottom end of a long logistics chain.

"Attaching the status of human error or driver negligence to every truck accident is a misleading simplification of the problem," said Djoko, quoted from his written statement received in Jakarta, Thursday, August 6.

According to this member of the Indonesian Transportation Community Advisory Council (MTI), drivers often have to carry vehicles that are not roadworthy or continue to drive in a tired state in order to pursue the deposit target.

Djoko assessed that the root of the problem lay in the failure of the Public Transportation Safety Management System or SMK PAU at the company level, as well as loose upstream supervision.

He quoted data from the National Police and PT Jasa Raharja which showed that the fatality rate of accidents had exceeded 100 people per day. The victims were dominated by motorcycle users up to 75 percent.

Of that number, students aged 11 to 25 years old are said to be prominent, with a portion often in the range of 25 to 40 percent.

Djoko admitted that there was a decrease in the fatality rate of accidents of around 8 percent during the homecoming 2026 compared to the previous year. However, the profile of the victims is still the same. The majority of men are in productive age.

He said that 61 percent of accidents were triggered by human factors, both due to risky driving ability and behavior. Infrastructure and environmental factors account for 30 percent, while vehicle technical problems account for 9 percent.

Djoko highlighted the practice of ODOL trucks or over dimension over loading. ODOL is a vehicle whose dimensions or load exceed the provisions. According to him, this problem is not only the negligence of the driver, but also related to logistics tariffs and market structures. Entrepreneurs, said the Academician of the Civil Engineering Program at Unika Soegja Pranata, often increase the load beyond capacity in order to pursue thin margins due to tariff wars.

"Punishing the driver alone will not solve the problem. There needs to be firm action upstream, namely punishing logistics companies and cargo owners who force excessive loads," said Djoko.

He assessed that the public has been bearing the risk of safety and the cost of road damage due to this practice. Damaged roads, bridges, and public facilities are financed by the State Budget and the Regional Budget.

Djoko also asked law enforcement not to stop at drivers or light administrative sanctions. The owner of goods who rents non-standard trucks and transport entrepreneurs who allow their fleets to operate without valid KIR must also be held accountable.

KIR is a periodic test to ensure that public vehicles and freight are roadworthy.

"The owners of goods and transportation entrepreneurs must be positioned as the main perpetrators of negligence crimes that cause the loss of other people's lives," said Djoko.

Djoko assessed that conventional supervision on the road was not enough. He encouraged the use of digital weighing bridges or weigh-in-motion, revocation of route permits through electronic systems, speed limiters, and monitoring of driver working hours such as tachographs.

According to Djoko, the accident of freight transport also shows that the diversification of logistics modes has not been optimal. The national logistics burden is still too heavily based on land roads, while freight trains and sea tolls are not competitive enough in terms of cost and time.

He said safety should not be separated from logistics efficiency. The high accident rate actually lowers competitiveness because it triggers the risk of damage to goods, delays in delivery, and insurance costs.

"Safety is the foundation of efficiency, not a variable that can be negotiated," said Djoko.

Djoko asked the government to tighten audits of freight companies whose fleets are repeatedly involved in accidents. If proven negligent, the operating license must be revoked.

He also assessed that freight drivers should be treated as an expert profession. They need certification, limited working hours, a decent wage system, and adequate rest rights.

"If accidents continue to occur, it is a strong signal that safety is still placed under the interests of short-term logistics," said Djoko.