Jakarta. At least 476 people were killed in traffic accidents during the last week of Ramadan and the following three days when Indonesian Muslims celebrated their biggest holiday of Idul Fitri, according to data from state-owned insurance company Jasa Raharja.
The number of motor vehicles traveling on inter-province highways increased significantly during the holiday season, contributing to a higher rate of traffic accidents than on normal days.
"We have disbursed Rp 55.4 billion in insurance payout for traffic accidents that killed 476 people and issued insurance settlement documents to 3,767 injured people via an integrated online system with hospitals,” Jasa Raharja President Director Rivan Purwantono said in Semarang, Central Java.
He said the latest death toll dropped by 66.6 percent compared to the number of fatal accidents during the same holiday season in 2019. The government banned Ramadan travels in 2020-21 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Toll road operator Jasa Marga said earlier that a record 1.7 million cars left Greater Jakarta during the holiday season, an increase of 9.5 percent on the 2019 figures.
The government estimated that the current holiday-related travels involved 85.5 million people across the archipelago.
