Nearly 1,000 people died and more than 2,000 injured in road traffic accidents recorded nationwide from January 1 to September 7 of this year, according to National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun.

“There were 1,720 traffic accidents nationwide causing 971 deaths and 2,374 injuries, of which 1,420 were severe,” he said.

He said that on September 7 alone, there were six accidents that killed five people and seriously injured nine others.

He noted that this number is just a preliminary figure that police from across the country have initially cited.

“These figures cannot be used to evaluate and compare whether the number of accidents has increased or decreased, as it is only a figure representing a summary. We are waiting for the exact numbers from the National Road Safety Committee, which are compiled every three to six months,” he said.

According to Kim Khoeun, as of September 7, the stricter enforcement of traffic targeted 150 locations nationwide and fined 641 offending car drivers and 478 motorists under sub-decree No 39.

From September 1-7, he said 5,165 cars and 4,057 motorcycles across the country were stopped for violating the sub-decree.

Road traffic expert and consultant Kong Ratanak said Cambodia had been trying to reduce the number of road fatalities.

But he said the country has not yet reached its target as it still lacks financial resources and investment in the road safety sector.

Therefore, he said, only efforts to disseminate information and enforce the law, as well as improving road infrastructure, can help reduce the problems caused by traffic accidents.

“The road safety sector requires the participation of people, especially road users, to obey the traffic law and strive to learn how to prevent and deal with traffic problems,” he said.