It's the road accidents, stupid!

I've been to Indonesia 10 or 12 times now, and spent maybe 1% of my total life there so far. Yet a majority of all the road accidents I've ever witnessed have been during my Indonesian visits. Its largely about the 100 million motorcycles that dodge and weave their way around the country's roads. By far the biggest danger for any visitor to Indonesia is the possibility of being in a road accident. Nothing else comes close.

During my recent two week trip I witnessed two road accidents, fortunately both minor. On a six-lane crowded highway in Makassar I saw a motorbike tipped over by a car, and its two riders sent sprawling across the roadway. All traffic screeched to a halt. The people dusted themselves off, and the show went on.

Then, during an otherwise safe and relaxing day tour in the Toraja region of Sulawesi, I saw another motorcyclist come to grief. The farm workers in the back of the truck above were watching, enthralled, as a young lady came hurtling down a steep hill, with her motorbike out of control, her wheels locked solid.

Over it went, with the engine roaring. A collision with the truck was avoided though, and fortunately she wasn't hurt when she came off it. Arief and John, my red-blooded driver and guide, leapt into action, ran over, switched it off, helped the poor girl pick the bike up, and twiddled and tweaked it a bit so it would start again.

She was appropriately embarrassed though when she saw I'd been photographing some of the action!