Police removed stickers and decals from the truck's front windscreen recently. POLICE
The Ministry of Interior has established strict guidelines authorising police throughout the country to remove stickers and decals from trucks, particularly on the front windscreen.
It reiterated that removing the offending items is not an act of vandalism, but rather the removal of illegally placed materials.
The purpose of the directive is not to punish but to eliminate such practices and instruct drivers against them due to their impact on road safety, it noted.
Ministry spokesperson Touch Sokheak made the comments in a December 9 post on the ministry’s official Facebook page, following the initiation of the orders by interior minister Sar Sokha.
“I would like to emphasise that the directive is aimed not at punishment but at elimination of the practice due to its effect on road traffic,” Sokheak stated in the post.
He noted that if drivers refuse to cooperate with police officers enforcing these instructions, the ministry would implement additional measures against such cases. He urged all drivers to understand that in road accidents, those involved would be legally accountable.
He said that if a driver causes injury or property damage, they would only compensate the victim. But causing serious injury or death could lead to criminal charges in addition to fines.
Kim Pagna, country director of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP), suggested on December 11 that the ministry should publicise detailed instructions to vehicle drivers or owners about prohibited decorations before strictly enforcing the directive.
“After educating them and making it public, we should devise a stringent plan to impose fines. But there should be stiffer penalty for company trucks, with the driving licences revoked,” he added.
At the launch of the National Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-30 on November 30, Sokha directed police nationwide to stringently enforce regulations against vehicles with curtains and black sunscreens on front windows, as well as stickers in general.
He instructed police to strictly enforce the bans, particularly involving front windscreens, with the exception of tax-related stickers.
