In the first 11 months of this year, the death toll from road accidents dropped by 162 compared to the same period last year, while a senior official from the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC) is pushing for greater efforts at education and implementation of a clear plan for reducing accidents.
According to Him Yan, deputy National Police chief and secretary-general of the NRSC, the first 11 months of this year saw 2,387 traffic accidents compared to 2,920 over the same period in 2020.
Road accidents this year resulted in 3,231 injuries and 1,345 deaths, down by 25.7 per cent and 10.7 per cent, respectively, compared to 4,351 and 1,507 over the same period last year. Yan said casualties dropped following the tightening of the road traffic law.
He gave the statistics while speaking at the debut of three short educational films on road traffic safety on December 21 in Phnom Penh.
The films were co-produced by of the National Police and the United Motion Picture Association of Cambodia.
Despite the drop in road casualties, Yan urged relevant institutions to take a more active part in preventing and reducing accidents, which should be considered a long-term challenge.
He said the accident numbers may go up again after the pandemic is finally over if there is no clear plan to reduce them beforehand.
Asia Injury Prevention Foundation country director Kim Panga said human factor was responsible for most accidents and the resulting injuries and deaths – things like failing to wear a helmet, drunk-driving and disobeying the law.
He noted that the growth in the number of vehicles on the road was also partly responsible for the increase in the number of accidents.
“In addition to educating the general public, we should focus mainly on helping vulnerable groups like farmers, factory workers and students. Better law enforcement is necessary and important to help reduce the rate of accidents,” Panga said.
“Please implement the law day and night in a manner that is fair, transparent and comprehensive throughout all of Cambodia to ensure that our citizens are safe when they travel.”
