BIKE BAN TO TACKLE DISORDERLY BEHAVIOUR
When announcing the proposed motorbike rental ban at a press conference on Mar 12, Mr Koster explained that it was aimed at tackling disorderly behaviour among tourists.
“Why now? Because we are now cleaning up. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it was impossible to do because there were no tourists,” he said.
Mr Koster said the proposed provincial-level ban means that foreigners would only be allowed to drive rental cars owned by travel agents.
“As tourists, they should act like tourists. They need to use vehicles prepared by travel agents instead of roaming around with a motorcycle, without wearing T-shirts, without clothes, a helmet, and even violating rules and also without a licence,” he said.
He added that the ban would be in force this year, without providing additional details.
According to data released by the Bali police on Mar 12, there were 171 traffic violations by foreign nationals over the past week. Out of this, people from Russia accounted for 56 cases.
There have been several high-profile traffic incidents involving foreigners that were reported by local media over the last few months. In January, a 24-year-old Russian tourist was killed while riding a motorbike and plunging 30m into a river in Ubud. Earlier this month, two Russian nationals were arrested in Bali for running an illegal motorbike riding course.
Subsequently, Indonesia’s Minister of Tourism Sandiaga Uno told journalists that there are many accidents in Bali because tourists are not adept at riding motorbikes.
Regulations are in place to ensure the safety of tourists, he said. “So if they didn’t have the skills to ride a motorbike and then some got into an accident, whether they were drunk or sober, of course, this needs to be dealt with,” said Mr Uno.
Source: Channel News Asia
