Tourist Ban

I found an e-mail from my cousin this morning referring me to an article about a new ban on the ability of tourists in Bali to use motorbikes. He asked whether I might have a comment. I do, as follows: 

Yeah, David, I reckon they are half right about this decision and half wrong. On the one hand, many irresponsible tourists have indeed made a nuisance of themselves by continually disregarding the law and driving without a license, without a helmet, and without anything resembling caution. Moreover, they have been combative and disrespectful with police when stopped. On the other hand, Indonesian drivers are certainly among the most incautious in the world, often don't wear a helmet, and sometimes have no license at all, so it's a bit rich to penalize the tourists while allowing their own excesses to persist. But the last word is that it's their country and tourists are well advised to obey the law. Of course, none of these new rules apply to me, since I am a foreign resident, not a tourist. I have noted that tourist communities here are outraged, declaring they will no longer come to Bali and will go to Thailand instead, or wherever. That is also fine with me. Lol.

Two points to append here have occurred to me on further thought today. One is that this newfangled idea may well make me a target of the police. How, after all, are they supposed to know that I'm not a tourist? It may be like having big neon dollar sign on my back. Of course, if stopped, I need only show my Indonesian ID card and  Indonesian license. But still, it could be annoying.

The second is that extreme panic is probably not necessary, as policing here, especially where traffic is concerned, is all but nonexistent. The preferred method has always been to set up a giant traffic stop on a main road, but of course this could be avoided by using less travelled roads, or by not travelling during heavy traffic periods. It is also hard to imagine that those Indonesian 'entrepreneurs' who are in the motorbike rental business will simply quit the business. There's always a way around these difficulties. I'm sure it would help as well for a tourist to avoid riding without a helmet, without a shirt, and without a license of any sort.  

So we'll see what happens down the road a ways. Maybe a significant change, maybe not.