A typical traffic scene in Phnom Penh. The new draft traffic laws aims to reduce accidents and cut the road toll. Hong Menea
A new draft road traffic law will be sent to the Council of Ministers next week for review. The proposed new law aims to reduce traffic accidents in the Kingdom. It was approved for forwarding to the council during a July 16 inter-ministerial meeting.
Min Meanvy, secretary-general of the General Secretariat of the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC), said on July 19 that the new draft, which was begun during the tenure of the previous sixth-mandate government, will be reviewed and verified by legal experts from the council of ministers.
“The draft law was almost completed under the sixth mandate. Former interior minister Sar Kheng reviewed it and passed it to the NRSC,” she said.
The new draft includes additions and revisions to 52 of the current 92 articles. The public works ministry submitted 40 of the changes, while the interior ministry proposed an additional five. The remaining seven recommendations were made by the interior ministry and the justice ministry working together, said the interior ministry.
“We have not imposed higher fines, but there are new fines for the use of inappropriate lights or excessive vehicle noise,” explained Meanvy.
She added that the majority of the legislation is unchanged.
“Most of the 52 articles only feature corrections to spelling, or words and phrases that are unclear,” she said, noting that the fines and penalties for driving under the influence remain unchanged.
Minister of Interior and chairman of the National Committee for Road Safety Sar Sokha chaired the July 16 review meeting.
He noted that the draft is in line with the development of Cambodia and would play a part in reducing the road toll to a lower level.
In addition, he explained that it would it would contribute to the implementation of the UN Global Road Safety Plan to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by road accidents by 50 per cent by 2030.
He requested the members of the NRSC working group to work closely with the Office of the Council of Ministers on the review process, in order to ensure the draft is submitted to a plenary meeting of the council as soon as possible.
Meanvy expected that once the draft law is approved, the number of traffic accidents will fall.
In the first six months of the year, 1, 520 traffic accidents were recorded in Cambodia. They resulted in 793 deaths, an increase of 37 or 5 per cent over the same period last year. Injuries totalled 2,072, 44 – or two per cent – more than the first six months of 2023. Of the fatalities, 75 per cent were motorcyclists.
The Kingdom’s total number of registered vehicles as of February 2024 was 7,351,906, 6,244,096 of them motorcycles, according to the interior ministry.
During a July 18 meeting with traffic officers, the interior minister noted that the government has “agreed in principle” to recruit an additional 30 traffic police each year. He also noted that height restrictions for new recruits will be increased by 5cm.
Male recruits must now stand at least 1.70m tall, while females must be 1.65m, Sokha explained.
