Indonesian bureaucrats installing concrete balls to sweep away people riding on top of trains
Achmad Ibrahim / AP
Railway staff in Indonesia have started hanging concrete balls above train tracks in a bid to prevent commuters from riding on carriage roofs.
The first balls were installed just above carriage-height near a station outside the capital, Jakarta. More will be put up elsewhere if they are a success.
Previous attempts to deter roof riders included spraying them with paint, spreading oil on carriages and hiring musicians to perform safety songs.
Correspondents say those initiatives have failed. Officials hope that the latest move will prove to be the ultimate deterrent…
Officials told the BBC that “roof surfing” can be extremely dangerous. In 2008 at least 53 passengers died in an accident after boarding a train roof. In 2011, 11 people were killed.
Most victims are electrocuted by overhead power cables, but some fall off train carriages while trains are moving…
While tickets are cheap by western standards, poorer people struggle to pay which is why they go on the roofs…
But the “roof surfers” themselves told the AP news agency that they are determined not to be put off…
I can see every smug Westerner sitting back and saying something about how little value is placed on human life in the 3rd World or developing nations. But, there is no geographic corner on the market for cruel and inhumane solutions. The mindset of racial or economic supremacy is what tells the tale every time.
We’ve had Tea Party Republican candidates for office here in New Mexico propose placing land mines along the border with Mexico to prevent illegal migrant laborers from crossing the border – by killing and maiming those who attempt it.
There have always been those who value gold more than human lives.
Oh, man. That’s going to be one bad headache. Have to admit… very creative – but I can see the surfers simply going and removing (cutting chains) the balls.
She speaks....
January 17, 2012 at 12:11 pm