The ‘Traffic Safety Garden’ will allow students the chance to test their schools in a simulated environment before venturing out onto the road. Interior ministry
A Kampong Chhnang high school will soon become the first in the Kingdom to establish a “Traffic Safety Garden”. The new facility will allow students to experience realistic traffic conditions – and enhance their understanding of traffic laws – without venturing out onto the roads.
Phorn Rim, spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, explained that the project was initiated by Minister of Interior Sar Sokha, chairman of the National Road Safety Committee.
“The garden is part of the broader efforts being made by the safety committee to impart traffic safety awareness in children from a young age,” he said.
He added that construction will begin soon. While the first facility will be trialled in Kampong Chhnang, he believed more would follow.
The interior ministry provided details of the new “garden”, explaining that it will be a real-world model of a section of the Kingdom’s roads, complete with intersections, pedestrian lanes, traffic lights, traffic signs, parking lots, pedestrian walkways and even simulated petrol stations.
On January 6, Sokha inspected the site, located within the grounds of Kampong Chhnang High School.
“The Traffic Safety garden is not only for students to further enhance the lessons they learn at school, but also for the general public, who can come and enhance their traffic knowledge,” said the interior ministry.
The ministry hopes the new facility will help the public to strengthen their awareness of traffic laws, including right-of-way laws and ethical driving behaviour។
Sokha has previously called for the inclusion of traffic-related lessons in the official curriculum of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport. This would include adding traffic safety topics to for primary, secondary and high school textbooks, with the aim of ensuring public safety and protecting the lives of the Kingdom’s youngest citizens.
According to the interior ministry, in 2024, authorities recorded 2,844 serious traffic accidents. They resulted in 1,509 fatalities and left over 3,000 injured. While this represented a five per cent reduction in the road toll over 2023, it still equated to four deaths per day.
The ministry noted that motorcyclists who were not wearing helmets made up the greatest number of accident victims, while the leading causes of the crashes were excessive speed and a failure to give way.
