A material judicial review hearing of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Land Transportation (LLAJ), Tuesday (7/25/2023). Photo by Humas MK/Ifa.
JAKARTA (MKRI) — The judicial review hearing of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Land Transportation Law (LLAJ Law) continued in the Constitutional Court (MK) on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. The fifth hearing for case No. 42/PUU-XXI/2023, filed by advocate Arifin Purwanto, had been scheduled to present the Police force as a Relevant Party, with Deputy Chief Justice Saldi Isra as panel chair.
Inspector General Chryshnanda Dwilaksana said there was no debate on the validity period of a driver’s license. “It is understandable considering that the norm regarding the validity period of a driver’s license for five years, and extendable, has actually been regulated in the LLAJ Bill discussed in 2008, which is regulated in Article 214 of Government Regulation (PP) No. 44 of 1993 on Vehicles and Drivers, which is the implementing regulation of the regime of Law No. 14 of 1992 on LLAJ,” he said.
He believed this was in line with the aims and objectives in the academic paper of the LLAJ Bill, which intended to review the relevant authority and substance in LLAJ, which is associated with the development of regional autonomy and the demands of future needs, so provisions relating to LLAJ already exist and are considered relevant. As such, the validity period of driver’s license is not debatable.
He emphasized that the five-year validity period in the current LLAJ Law had actually restored the legal politics of the validity period of driver’s license, which since Wegverkeers ordonnantie (WVO) has been regulated in statutory regulations. This is in line with the academic paper of the LLAJ Bill, which focused on adding new materials that Law No. 14 of 1992 had not covered. This includes the validity period of a driver’s license, which was previously stipulated in Article 214 of PP No. 44 of 1993, then set out in Article 85 paragraph (2) of the LLAJ Law.
That legal history, Chryshnanda explained, can be further developed into a comparative law study to show that it would not be reasonable to eliminate the validity period of driver’s license.
“Considering that in 1933 the validity of a driver’s license already existed despite the low level of traffic in 1933 because the number of motorbikes was not as high as it is today. Is it rational or legally reasonable to eliminate the validity period of a driver’s license in this era when the level of traffic risk is very high?” he added.
Time restriction on a driver’s license is oriented towards evaluating the health and driving competence of license holders. If in 1933 there already was a legal policy oriented towards it by such a restriction, will there be a setback in the legal politics of traffic safety today by removing the validity period?
“Based on the previous explanation, the validity period of a driver’s license is still very relevant,” Chryshnanda stressed.
Meanwhile, to prepare drivers with good qualifications in driving, the LLAJ Law regulates the requirements that must be met, in addition to administrative requirements as well as age, health, and competency test requirements. To ensure the sustainability of driver qualifications capable of realizing safe traffic, the LLAJ Law requires two things: periodic evaluation of the health and driving ability of driver’s license holders through renewal as well as supervision of their traffic behavior through a marking system.
“Competency evaluation through license renewal is needed to reduce accident fatality rate by ensuring that license holders still have the competence and health to drive a motorized vehicle in order to prevent and reduce accident fatality rate,” Chryshnanda said.
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The Petitioner questions the expiry of driving license (SIM) in Article 85 paragraph (2) of the LLAJ Law, which reads, “Driving License shall apply for 5 (five) years and be extendible.”
At the preliminary hearing on Wednesday, May 10, the Petitioner said that every five years he had to extend his driving license (SIM), which he argued was unfavorable for him.
“Every time I extend my driving license, for example last year, I would get a driving license. Then five years later, I extend it a second time. The license number would be different, Your Honor. There is no legal certainty and if the deadline is passed, everything must be started from scratched and processed. This, of course, is in contrast with [resident ID card or KTP]. [A new] KTP will be produced at once,” he said.
In the petition, the Petitioner alleges the five-year expiration period for driving license had no legal basis and no clear parameter based on review. He also feels disadvantaged by the cost and time for the extension process.
The LLAJ Law mandates every driver of motorized vehicles to have a driving license. The theoretical and practice tests for obtaining it are surely not easy. The test results only notify test-takers whether they have passed or failed the tests, but do not show the answers for the questions. In addition, the Petitioner alleges, the materials for these tests do not have clear legal bases and do not show any review from competent institutions. This, he argues, is in violation of Article 28D paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution.
Based on those arguments, the Petitioner requests that the Court grant the petition and declare Article 85 paragraph (2) of the LLAJ Law unconstitutional and not legally binding as long as the phrase “shall apply for 5 (five) years and be extendible” not be interpreted as “shall apply for life.”
Author : Utami Argawati
Editor : Nur R.
PR : Andhini S.F.
Translator : Yuniar Widiastuti (NL)
Disclaimer: The original version of the news is in Indonesian. In case of any differences between the English and the Indonesian versions, the Indonesian version will prevail.
Tuesday, July 25, 2023 | 16:28 WIB 399