Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol has reiterated his calls for local authorities to inspect all vehicle repair workshops to ensure they are registered and meet all applicable legal standards.

Chanthol gave the instruction at a January 30 meeting to review working outcomes of 2022 and set plans for the coming year for the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC).

“Illegal, substandard car repairs are one of the leading causes of traffic accidents. There are also many trucks which have been modified to allow overloading, and they cause major damage to the Kingdom’s roads,” he said.

He added that there are over 170,000 vehicles that currently overdue for a vehicle inspection, and called on vehicle owners to make sure they are inspected soon.

Kandal provincial governor Kong Sophorn said authorities would continue to monitor vehicle workshops and make sure they were registered with the provincial department of public works and transport, in accordance with the law.

Sophorn added that inspections of all garages and workshops would be conducted and strict measures would be taken against vehicles that violated permissible specifications.

“Kandal authorities will continue to educate the public on traffic laws. We also want to focus on ensuring that motorcyclists were helmets at all times,” he said.

Interior Minister Sar Kheng said the grim road toll of 2022 meant all relevant institutions should conduct reviews of their processes, in order to improve and increase road traffic safety working outcomes for the coming year.

Sar Kheng, who is the chairman of the National Road Safety Committee, requested that the leaders of all government institutions continue to push for the prevention of traffic accidents in Cambodia.