The first day of trial use by the public of the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway saw some issues with drivers speeding and driving in the opposite direction as well as some motorbike drivers with an engine of less than 500cc.

The Ministry of Public Works and Transport put the over 187km expressway into use on October 1 with free of tolls for the whole of October.

Transport ministry spokesman Heang Sotheayut said that some people were speeding as the road was open, wide and in good condition.

“Some people took photos of their speed and posted it to Facebook to boast. But this is against the rules and our police had instructed them not to speed. Motorists must respect the traffic laws and be ethical drivers on the road,” he said, adding that most of the travelers had followed the rules.

Kim Pagna, director of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, said that the violation on the rules by some motorists could be due to a lack of information or their excitement about the new expressway and of these issues are what the transport ministry needs to work on to avoid future dangers.

He also urges the ministry to work on some other technical aspects such as creating a smartphone app to facilitate tolls and equipping more CCTV cameras as well as educating people not to cross into the other lane on the expressway.