Chan Solita, 19, second-year student at Royal University of Phnom Penh

“People often think that the traffic police have an easy job, and no one cares much about their work. But, being good at the job is very difficult. In fact, they work harder than some officials. On Sundays or public holidays, when many have the day off, traffic police are working hard. When I drive to school, I frequently see traffic police starting work as early as 6:00am. Sometimes, when a traffic light breaks or there is a traffic jam, they will do what it takes to make traffic move again – even in heavy rain.”

Ngim Leanghong, 19, second-year student at Institute of Foreign Languages

“In my opinion, traffic police are better than a few years ago. When I’m driving along the road, I find that they work hard now to fix traffic jams and help out when there’s an accident, especially during rush hour. Also, the police are now more ethical and fair when it comes to handing out violations. I would not say that corruption is gone when it comes to handing out violations. However, the government is making good strides towards stopping it.”

Som Vibol, 19, second-year student at Royal University of Phnom Penh

“​Some police are only working for their own personal benefit, and not for the people’s. They don’t seem to care about traffic issues; they talk to people impolitely and sometimes come off as scary. However, the traffic police who do their job well obey the law and respect their duties. When there is a traffic accident, they go directly there and ease the situation. ​Also, just a few weeks ago, I saw a kind traffic policeman bring a group of primary students safely across a busy road.”

Khun Sunheng, 17, first-year student at Norton University

“From my own observations, traffic police are better than before and stricter with enforcing the law. However, there are also some traffic police who are too strict with the law. For instance, I was stopped by a policeman once for driving my motorbike without wearing a helmet – he fined me more than the amount set by the law. Nonetheless, I really admire those in the profession who try their best to serve us as citizens. If there were no traffic police, we wouldn’t be able to travel safely.”