JAKARTA— To improve road safety, the Ministry of Transportation decides to operate weigh bridges again. This step is to keep an eye on overloaded trucks, to ensure the truck is roadworthy, ensuring traffic flow, and preventing roads from being damaged by overloaded trucks.
Director General of Land Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation Mr Pudji Hartanto explained that the Ministry of Transportation is applying the measure to improve the land transportation service to the public, especially safety, security and land transportation services.
“The Minister of Transportation wants fundamental changes in its implementation, including operational, enforcement and law enforcement on freight transport,” said Mr Pudji on 22 April 2017.
The weighbridge operation must be based on the spirit of good governance and clean governance. To make it happen must be based on intentions to change in a positive direction. “There are no more illegal levies on weigh stations,” he said.
There are three benefits to the operation of weigh stations. First, there are no more overweighed vehicles. Secondly, the traffic flow runs smooth, not jammed, and the low number of accidents. Thirdly, roads may last longer, not easily damaged. Overloaded trucks will not be able to go at normal speed or obey the minimum speed limit rule if driving on the freeway. Once there is a truck with more loads, it cannot run in appropriate speed, creating road congestion.
Trucks with overload also make asphalt or concrete and road bridges damaged. This happens on used imported trucks with longer tub sizes. With used engines while the load is heavy, these old imported trucks are often the source of traffic jams. The longer truck body size also makes it difficult to maneuver on a winding road. Several times the case of overloaded trucks are unable to go on the road climbs, even sliding backwards indeterminate because the brakes are no longer powerful enough to withstand the burden.
Law Number 23 of 2014 on Regional Government mentions that beginning on 1 January 2017 weighbridge management switches to the Central Government in this case the Ministry of Transportation. The change of authority to manage weigh stations is an effort to carry out strict supervision function. “The objective is that the operation of the Motor Vehicle Implementation Unit (UPPKB) is going well and in accordance with the prevailing regulations,” Mr Pudji said.
Weighbridge is a means of controlling the transportation of goods from overload to maintain the goodness of the vehicle and road damage due to more payload. But the reality is that weighbridges seem to become hot hubs of illegal levies by irresponsible people, and as a source of local revenue (PAD) or called local levies. (*)
