What to do if you had vehicle crash accident on the Indonesian road….
Car/motorbike crash accident often happened on Indonesian Road, especially in Bali, the vast majority of road traffic accidents mostly occurs by the foreigners whom lack of knowledge regarding traffic culture in Indonesia.
Every country has a different traffic culture, in Indonesia mostly people prefer using motorbike over cars. Indonesian people mostly using motorbike for a short distance without helmet. Obviously this is so wrong.
We have experienced defending our clients on traffic accidents case. Indonesian main law regarding traffic and road is Indonesian Law number 22 of 2009 regarding Traffic and Road Transport. The Law number 22 of 2009 categorize traffic accidents category as:
- Minor accident
- Medium accident
- Hard/serious accident
Minor accident: accident which resulting minor damage on vehicle.
Medium accident: accident which resulting minor personal injury and vehicle damage.
Hard/serious accident: accident which resulting death or serious personal injury.
What do we need to do right after vehicle crash accident occurs?
First, call the police. According to Indonesian Law, the police only have responsibility if the victim or someone called the police to present at the crash scene. The victim who has suffered personal injury has the right to call the police and make a police report at the crash scene, however the victim also has a right if the victim satisfactorily compensated at the scene by the party at fault to not contact the police.
For minor crash accidents:
- Report the road accident to the police is generally not required if death or serious injuries are not involved.
- Minor accidents are rarely reported to the police. The parties involved usually negotiate at the crash scene about payment compensation for damage of vehicles and/or personal injury.
- The larger vehicle is often considered at fault. For example, the driver of a vehicle is usually expected to pay a motorbike rider for the motorbike damage and/or personal injury.
- If a foreign driver is involved, they are sometimes expected to pay for damages.
- For the party or parties who agree to pay, it is best to settle negotiations and make compensation immediately, before crowds gather and attempt to influence and interfere the negotiations.
We suggest to never leave the scene of an accident until all reporting and negotiations are finalised.
Police presence at the crash scene
Indonesian police have the power to conduct a negotiation between the parties involved. Once agreed upon, the police draw up the Mandatory Financial Contribution as Compensation for a Road Accident (or known in Bahasa Indonesia as Sumbangan Wajib Dana Kecelakaan Lalu Lintas Jalan).
The Mandatory Financial Contribution as Compensation for a Road Accident determines party at fault to make a quick payment at the scene otherwise it may detained by the local authorities. The party at fault should demand the victim to sign an affidavit document after the victim receives the agreed compensation, the affidavit also should be signed by the police to legalize the affidavit. Without the complete victim’s and police’s hand signatures, the victim has a possibility to request more money afterwards.
The Mandatory Financial Contribution as Compensation for a Road Accidentis filed at the Administration Under One Roof System. This office is the clearing house for all legal/governmental matters for motorised vehicles.
Secondly, if you are the victim claim the insurance. Report the accident to the insurance company within a maximum of 72 hours, take the vehicle to a garage as authorised by the insurance company for the repairs. If there is no authorised garage exists in the area, take the vehicle to nearest garage and ask for repair estimate time and expenses then submit it to the insurance company for authorisation in advance. The insurance company will inspects the vehicle prior to repair. Provide the few documents required (claim form, copy of driving licence and vehicle registration document, and police report certificate of accident.
For further information regarding your own case, feel free to contact us through contact form.
Regards,
Ubud Law Office Team