Horrific Bali accident reminds tourists of the dangers of walking on the side of the road

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A Swiss man died in a terrible accident on Saturday, October 12th in Bali.

The incident occurred just outside the tourist village of Kintamani when the tourist and his driver stopped to admire the view.

It is believed an oncoming truck experienced brake failure, resulting in a catastrophic collision.

Head of Bangli Police’s Traffic Accident Department, Ipda Ketut Karya, confirmed the events to the press. The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon on the Kintamani – Singaraja highway in Bantang village near Kintamani.

The 56-year-old Swiss tourist, known by his initials DMKW, was driven to Bondalem diving resort in Buleleng Regency by a taxi driver from I Gusti Ngurah Rai International.

When the driver and DMKW spotted a viewpoint, they stopped to take photos and walked along the side of the road to admire the view.

Karya explained: “A foreigner who had just been picked up from the airport was in the middle of the drive to Bondalem and asked to stop and get out of the vehicle to capture the view by taking photos of the landscape.”

As the couple were taking photos on the side of the road, a brake failure occurred on an oncoming low-loader truck carrying construction materials downhill.

Also in the vehicle were the driver, a 35-year-old man from East Kalimantan Province, and two passengers from West Nusa Tenggara Province and East Java Province.

According to reports, the driver lost control of the truck, went off the road, crashed into DMKW and fell five meters into a ravine.

Karya told reporters: “The pedestrian, a foreigner, suffered an open wound on the head and died on the way to the hospital.”

He confirmed that the driver suffered abrasions on his knees and bruises on his hands and the passengers suffered bruises on their chests.

He noted: “The driver and passengers are currently being treated at Wangaya Hospital in Denpasar.”

The Swiss consulate is now working with the Balinese authorities to further process the case.

Bali’s roads are becoming increasingly dangerous for both locals and foreigners, drivers, passengers and pedestrians.

At the end of 2023, it was revealed that Bali’s roads were the second most dangerous in all of Indonesia, with only East Kalimantan province recording more collisions and incidents on the roads.

Police and traffic officials are working to make Bali’s roads safer for the public and regularly carry out spot checks on motorists in busy holiday areas.

Traffic police regularly stop local and foreign motorists to check their driver’s licenses, vehicle registration documents and road safety certificates, and to ensure that motorcyclists wear helmets and shoes.

In 2023, the number of reported collisions in Bali doubled, although it should be noted that not all collisions are reported to authorities, so the actual numbers are significantly higher.

The number of deaths on Bali’s roads has also risen significantly, and although data for 2024 is still being collected, a decrease in traffic accidents is unlikely to occur.

In statements released in late 2023, Bali Police Inspector General Ida Bagus Kade Putra Narendra confirmed that there were 7,224 reported traffic accidents on Bali’s roads in 2023, a 100% increase compared to 2022.

He also tragically confirmed that deaths on Bali’s roads also rose to a total of 632 deaths in 2023, an increase of 25. A staggering 86% of these accidents involved motorcycles.

This month, Badung police chief AKP Wayan Sugianta was on patrol with his teams in the Canggu area. He and his team are increasing their commitment to ensure the safety of road users and smooth traffic flow in Bali’s top resorts.

AKP Sugianta stated: “In order to ensure safety, order and smooth traffic in the Badung Police area, we from the traffic unit take action against visible violations that may lead to this.” [disturbances]. For example, foreigners don’t wear helmets, Indonesians use heavy exhausts, and foreigners who have two or three passengers.”