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Jakarta’s night riders flout the law to race through the city’s streets but police can do little to stop it

Night riders on motorbikes wait at an intersection in Jakarta. (ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

Mohamad Rizky's parents don't know how he spends his Friday nights in Jakarta and the 15-year-old doesn't dare tell them.

That's because the mischievous teen is out on his motorbike, racing along the twists and turns of the capital's narrow streets.

"They would forbid me, of course," he said with a grin, preparing to take a starting position at the front of a pack of other young male riders.

The group wait for the red light at an infamous intersection in Jakarta's east to turn green, revving their engines.

Cars, bikes, food peddlers and tuktuks cross in front of them.

And then when it turns red, they fly off down the road in a roar of engines, sometimes only just missing other vehicles in a mad dash to prove who is the fastest.

This is life for Jakarta's night riders, a term given to groups of mainly young men who regularly tear down the streets of Jakarta, risking serious injury.

Jakarta's night riders flout the law to race through the city's streets but police can do little to stop it

A group of night riders prepare to race on Jakarta's streets. (ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

"It's thrilling, but I'm careful, it's just for fun," Mohamad said when asked why he doesn't wear a helmet.

But there's little police can do to combat the dangerous trend of street drag racing.

The scourge of men racing through the streets

Others take the thrill of racing through Jakarta more seriously.

Just one year older, Radja Chandra Kusuma has graduated to becoming a jockey — a young gun for hire by bike owners who tweak their motorcycles for more speed.

Jakarta's night riders flout the law to race through the city's streets but police can do little to stop it

Mohamad Rizky says it's a "thrill" racing on his motorbike. (ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

"Every bike owner has to bet a certain amount of money, maybe 500,000 rupiah ($50)," he said.

"So if I win the race, I will claim the money from my rivals."

He's never crashed, but he has come close.

"In the beginning, I was afraid of getting caught by police, afraid of falling off my bike or colliding with others," he said.

"All the near misses have made me more experienced."

Jakarta's night riders flout the law to race through the city's streets but police can do little to stop it

A group of men on bikes look for cars on a Jakarta road. (ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

Police caught him once and confiscated his bike until a friend paid them $150 to get it back.

"It didn't stop me from racing," he said.

A problem police can't fix

In a city where motorbikes overwhelmingly outnumber cars, hooning isn't new.

But Jakarta police appear half-hearted in their efforts to stamp it out.

While riders tell stories of police drawing guns on them, such encounters appear to be the exception rather than the norm.

Jakarta's night riders flout the law to race through the city's streets but police can do little to stop it

Residents often call police to break up night rider racing in Jakarta. (ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

There are several intersections dotted throughout the city of 30 million people that are well-known for drag racing.

On one night when the ABC met the night riders at Cempaka Putih, a gathering point in East Jakarta, police came quickly around midnight and shooed them away.

But on another weekend, the young men managed to race repeatedly for two hours before police arrived and set up a patrol.

The local commander didn't want to speak to media on record, but one of his deputies said the officers were ordered to stay out until the foreign journalists and their camera left.

Rice seller Sabaruddin has manned a cart at the Cempaka Putih intersection for 15 years and says nearby residents who can't sleep have constantly asked police to do more to stop the noise.

Jakarta's night riders flout the law to race through the city's streets but police can do little to stop it

A man on a motorbike orders food from a street vendor on the back of a truck at night. (ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

"They're racing around one or two in the morning, even sometimes until 5am," the 53-year-old said.

"People living in this area have been frustrated for a long time, but there's no solution."

He said police regularly patrolled but tended to leave once the night riders had gone, only for the young men on bikes to quickly return in a constant game of cat and mouse.

"Once there was an accident, I'm not sure whether the rider died as he was straight away taken away by a fellow racer," Sabaruddin said.

Why street racing lives on

Many believe street racing is an integral part of Jakarta's culture that can't be stamped out.

Marlon Pakpahan, a mechanic and former jockey, is one such believer.

"Street racing will be here forever," he declared.

Jakarta's night riders flout the law to race through the city's streets but police can do little to stop it

The night riders frequent Cempaka Putih, a district of Jakarta notorious for motorbike drag racing. (ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

He gave up the jockey life after suffering serious injuries in a crash but still relishes helping younger riders test the performance limits of the bikes.

Marlon said owners were spending ever-increasing amounts to upgrade their motorbikes.

"When you're sitting on the bike, if you're scared, you should stay home," he declared.

Authorities have tried to provide places for the street races to compete, including a racetrack in Sentul, in the adjacent city of Bogor.

But Marlon said that didn't work because it was too far to get to for many riders in Jakarta.

And he said police patrols would never stop the night riders.

"When police patrol, only novice riders get caught," he said.

"Experienced riders always get wind of when police will come out."

Besides, in his opinion, law enforcement officers have more important work to do anyway.

"They shouldn't be targeting street racing, they should be out chasing thieves and bag snatchers," he said.

Jakarta's night riders flout the law to race through the city's streets but police can do little to stop it

Radja Chandra Kusuma is considered a jockey among night riders. (ABC News: Mitch Woolnough)

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