Human Billboards

[motormouth]

The police in Bali are now moonlighting as human billboards. Funny experience when driving in Denpasar this morning. Dropped the kids of at school @7.15 and went into Denpasar to the bank.Just approaching Kumbasari market,I noticed a policeman standing on the left side of Jln Gajah Mada,right before the market. There was the usual mayhem of pedestrians and bemos,mixed with zipping motorbikes in the morning commute.Alone amongst all this was a copper standing near the road side with a sign ,no bigger than a A3 page. It read
"Sepeda Motor
Nyalagan
Lampu"...motor bikes must turn on lights( or there abouts)
I couldn't stop laughing,as he kept turning back and forth with his little sign...god bless him,I'm sure his contibution will enhance the driving experience here :roll:

 

[udayana]

Seems like common sense that riding with headlights switched on would increase rider safety.

Can't see what is so funny about that.

 

[motormouth]

I agree, but the sight of a policeman with a holding a small sign is funny to me .Tell me the last time you saw a copper holding a sign with traffic rules written on it...hey braniac...does anything please you :roll:

 

[lumumba]

Motormouth wrote:

I couldn't stop laughing,as he kept turning back and forth with his little sign...god bless him,I'm sure his contibution will enhance the driving experience here :roll:

Will NOT-NOT-NOT enhance the driving or were near and they don't give a sh** what is written on that page.

The police should enforce the law not going around like lollipops man (you'll find them in England at the pedestrian crossing near schools).

Motorbike drivers thinks that the roads belongs to them , NOT SO

Don't just make me laugh but I also rolling on the floor.

I agree with Motormouth 1.000.000% and more

 

[udayana]

I see a lot of things in Bali that I don't see elsewhere. Unlike you as an outsider I accept Bali for what it is. I don't seek every opportunity to belittle the Balinese.

...hey braniac...does anything please you

So far you have whinged about:

1) the porters at the airport
2) the toilets at the airport
3) the traffic
4) the roads
5) the police

so I think it is fair to say that the above question is best directed to yourself.

 

[calitobali]

Um, as far as I know, and from what everyone I talk to says, the lights are not supposed to be turned on during the daytime, when it is light out. which is when you were taking your kids to school if I read the story right. Not saying that you are wrong, I believe you saw what you saw, but it seems pretty inconsistent. I don't expect consistency here though.

From my experience though, every time I wake up in the morning and forget to turn off my motor's headlight someone reminds me to turn it off. Oh well.

 

[bambang]

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific has developed a set of safety goals to improve road safety. One of the goals is to standadise the use of headlights on motorcycles by making it the norm to keep motorcycle headlights on at all times.

Indonesia recently introduced seven new road safety laws including a requirement for motorcyclists to turn on their motorcycle’s headlights during daytime. The new laws come in to effect in january 2009.

It seems entirely reasonable to have a grace period and a public awareness campaign when new laws are introduced especially since there will be a RP750,000 fine.

At a time when Indonesia is moving to improve road safety standards the above criticisms seem misplaced to say the least.

 

[bambang]

Correction: the new laws come into effect in January 2010.

 

[JohnnyCool]

Indonesia recently introduced seven new road safety laws including a requirement for motorcyclists to turn on their motorcycle’s headlights during daytime. It seems entirely reasonable to have a grace period and a public awareness campaign when new laws are introduced especially since there will be a RP750,000 fine.

As far as I can recall, that was many months ago.

The lights had to be turned on some time during the "afternoon", (not sure at exactly what time). Even that was a source of needless confusion. I mean, couldn't the authorities have agreed on a specific time, (like 3pm), and told everybody?

For a few weeks, I saw some Balinese doing this, but after a while, hardly any at all (like right now). I figured that many people simply chose to ignore the "new law", still don't know about it, don't understand the sense behind it, didn't want to stress their batteries more than necessary, whatever.

The "grace period" came and went a long time ago. So? What's next? Are the police really going to start fining violators?

I think it's about time people riding around at night without their lights turned on should be heavily fined. Oh, and not to mention (again), those "adults" responsible for allowing very young children, without licences, helmets, lights (day or night), to ride around with seeming impunity, etc.

Perhaps these "seven new laws" are another attempt at reducing previous confusion and getting people to abide by them.

I hope so, since the way I see many locals riding their motorbikes leaves a hell of a lot to be desired.

:shock:

 

[bambang]

The "grace period" came and went a long time ago. So? What's next? Are the police really going to start fining violators?

Wrong.

The laws were passed in June 2009. They come into effect in January 2010.

 

[motormouth]

Heh Udayana, like I said before...just observing,unlike you who gets off on critisizing other people's posts. So far you have inplied that I an anti Indonesian, anti islamic and now anti Balinese. Well I better go down stairs and tell the other 7 Balinese that live with me that I hate them all...get a life.

 

[udayana]

just observing

Being derisory and belittling is not "just observing".

If you weren't ignorant of the new laws you probably wouldn't have shot your mouth off right?

Besides the sign looked clear enough to me so what's the problem? :lol:

 

[motormouth]

No delittling in my post champ,sorry you couldn't see the funny side in policeman holding up a sign with new road laws...I did, but I fail to see how funny is twisted into belittling...but heh, each to his own 8)

 

[motormouth]

Heh Johnny Cool, I loved your letter in the Bali Advertiser, couldn't agree more.The little blighters on their motorbikes fresh out of nappies drive me crazy. I better not wax lyrical or old scrooge McDuck,Udyana will call me a whinger..HA HA.

 

[mimpimanis]

The funny thing to me is, that on Jalan Uluwatu I see many tourists going up and down with their headlights on during the day time. The locals I am with at any time we see this always think the tourist doesnt know their bike and has switched them on by mistake... but I tell them most mean it so the bike can be seen and be safe. It has never occurred to them to turn on the lights in daytime.

 

[JohnnyCool]

Well I stand corrected and thankyou for that, bambang.

The laws were passed in June 2009. They come into effect in January 2010.

What I saw and read about late last year was probably just a practice run. If so, it didn't seem to work at all, and why would it?.

For example:

"Wayan" gets pulled over for not having his lights on, maybe in August 2009.
Police Officer: You must have your lights on in the daytime. This is a warning to you. We have a new "law". The "law" will be implemented in six more months (January 2010). We are practising to catch and fine you when the time is right.

Or something like that.
Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, not that I'm surprised.

I guess I'll have to wait until next month to see any kind of difference.

Just out of interest, I stumbled across a blog somewhere which asserts the fine will be Rp 100,000 plus 15 days in the hole. That's different from your statement that the fine will be Rp 750,000.

What's your source?

:shock:

 

[udayana]

Doesn't make a lot of sense to me, not that I'm surprised.

Me either. :lol:

 

[tintin]

As you probably all know, when one turns the ignition of a motorcycle, the headlight automatically comes ON. From my experience, this is true In the EU and the USA. In Bali, it does not happen, at least with the bebeks and other small motorcycles. I never noticed if the large ones, greatert han 250cc, followed the practice of the EU and USA: Gilbert can tell us if his several large motorcycles follow this practice or if their automatic "turn-on" systems have been disabled in conform to the "Bali (old) rule."

While driving my Tiger, I used to keep the headlight ON all the time, and so I was receiving countless warnings from incoming traffic during the day, even from pedestrians. I soon gave up doing so, lest I was offending some unknown diety. :roll:

 

[Markit]

The never ending story?

Let's be realistic: if the police were to really start to enforce the road usage laws here there would be in one swoop only police motor bikes left on the road :lol:

 

[udayana]

Notice how many people wear helmuts now? Why? Because it became law.

Anyway this is my last post.

I will leave this forum to the motormouths, the markits and johnnycool/sanurian/philips who have that special expat superiority that lets them look down on their hosts.

While you dominate the forum it will always be a basket case.

the silly policeman, waving his funny little sign, turning left and right and being useless....

no nothing belittling at all..... :roll: