Traffic at the corner of Russian Federation Boulevard (Street 110) and Street 2004 in the capital’s Kakab commune in December. Heng Chivoan
The National Road Safety Committee (NRSC), in collaboration with its local and international partners, is preparing a National Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, an adaptation of a UN initiative, to cut road casualties in half by 2030.
Min Manavy, Ministry of Public Works and Transport secretary of state and NRSC secretary-general, revealed the national plan at a workshop on road safety in the previous decade. The workshop was held from June 22-23 and attended by officials from the NRSC General Secretariat and the Ministry of Interior, as well as other partners.
The workshop presented the results, challenges and experiences surrounding the 2011-2020 iteration of the national plan, and collected input from national and international institutions and other partners for this decade’s plan.
“An uptrend in road accidents over a decade ago prompted the UN to advise member countries to launch national plans for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, to reduce road fatalities by 50 per cent. Unfortunately, we were only able to affect a reduction of 31 per cent,” she said.
She added that road accidents had left people dead and injured, damaged state and private property and had many devastating consequences on society.
Manavy urged all relevant ministries and local and international organisations to contribute their input, and help build a successful plan.
Kim Pagna, country director of Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP), said on June 27 that he supported the draft plan to address challenges to road accidents and traffic congestion day by day. He noted that the 2011-2020 iteration of the national plan was good, but the main problem was the lack of budget.
“There were good plans and actions, but the budget was not sufficient for the task. It needed approximately $10 million per year, but failed to receive enough financial backing. Because an adequate budget was not allocated, Cambodia fell short of its goals,” he said.
Pagna encouraged the government to invest more in road safety work. If the government encountered problems finding the budget, relevant bodies should collaborate with the private sector and hold events to seek financial support for their activities.
He opined that strengthening law enforcement is the most important key, saying it should continue to be the biggest priority in the next decade. He said the government had previously determined this.
According to the National Police, the number of road accidents in 2021 totalled 2,670, resulting in 1,497 deaths and 3,615 injuries, 2,246 of which were severe. Phnom Penh recorded 245 deaths.
