In the first nine months of 2023, more than 710,000 of the over two million trucks inspected were overloaded, according to a report by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Officials inspected 2,246,140 heavy vehicles and discovered that 717,300 of them – 31 per cent – were overloaded.

The vast majority of them were within five per cent of their legally allowed loads, meaning written warnings were issued, rather than fines, while 415 of the overloaded vehicles were carrying loads in excess of 20 per cent of what was authorised.

Fines totalling over 2.7 billion riel (around $650,000) were issued to the operators of 1,766 trucks.

During a September 28 meeting to review the issue, Seng Chhuon, transport ministry secretary of state, urged the staff of the Kingdom’s 33 weigh stations to maintain their vigilance. He reminded them that the government has spent millions of dollars on the construction of roads, and overloaded vehicles are responsible for serious damage to them.

According to Article 60 of the Road Law, users of heavy trucks which avoid weigh stations shall be fines $125.

Fines will be issued for overloaded vehicles, and the trucks will be impounded, with penalties varying according to the degree of rule-breaking.

Penalties vary from a 100,000 riel per tonne fine and 10-day impound for a vehicle which is overloaded by 5 to 10 per cent, to a one-year impound and 300,000 riel fine per tonne for one which is more than 20 per cent above the prescribed limit.