Skating Jakarta police on a roll to control traffic

By Lenita Sulthani

JAKARTA (Reuters Life!) - There's the canine unit and the equine unit and now police in car-congested Jakarta, where gridlock is legendary, have set up a new force to combat traffic jams -- the in-line skate unit.

With a run-down public transportation system and some 14 million residents, Jakarta is known to be one of the most difficult cities in Asia to navigate, even for the traffic police who is often stymied by the congestion.

But the 20 officers who have spent the past four weeks weaving through the streets on their skates don't have to worry about gridlock any more.

"We park our vehicles as close as we can to the traffic jams. Then we go into the jam area on rollerblades to direct the traffic," said Commander Sutirto who heads the special squad and who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.

Decked out in helmets, knee and elbow pads, the skating police received a month of intensive training. Many officers said their biggest challenge was staying upright on the city's bumpy and sometimes pock-marked roads.

Some motorists welcomed the rollerblading officers as a time-saving solution, but others said the police needed to crack down on the bad driving that causes the jams rather than just resolve them.

"Motorists must be disciplined. They must not cross into other people's lanes," said motorist Eko Juli.

Getting around sprawling Jakarta and suburbs is a time-consuming and often arduous feat.