Police say a new traffic law is dramatically curtailing the number of accidents on Cambodia’s roads. Hong Menea
The number of traffic accidents has decreased compared to last year, since the new traffic law sub-decree was implemented on May 1.
In the first week of May, there were 43 traffic accidents, a 54 per cent decrease from the 95 accidents reported last year.
There were 24 deaths reported as a result of the accidents this year, a 40 per cent decrease from the 40 deaths reported during the first week of May last year.
A press release by the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC) issued on Saturday stated that the number of road traffic accidents in the fourth week of April decreased by 22 per cent this year, and the number of traffic fatalities decreased by 31 per cent compared to the same time last year.
During the fourth week of April this year, there were 13,968 illegal vehicles discovered and their owners fined.
Motorcycles and rickshaws made up 10,815 of the cases while all other types of cars accounted for the remaining 3,153 cases.
According to the press release, the decrease was due to the new traffic law sub-decree.
The NRSC said some traffic police officials had been reprimanded for their rude behaviour while issuing motorists with fines.
There have also been negative and unprofessional interpretations of the sub-decree posted on social media, according to the NRSC.
The posts contained exaggerated content meant to confuse the people, it said.
The NRSC said the new measures offer the best chance to minimise accidents on the road.
In a Saturday Facebook post by Minister of Interior Sar Kheng, he urged citizens to provide constructive feedback concerning the sub-decree.
The government expects the sub-decree, which increased traffic fines three to five-fold, to decrease the number of accidents in 2020.
The government felt compelled to enact the measure after the number of injuries and deaths jumped dramatically from 2018 to 2019.
Deputy National Police Commissioner and NRSC secretary-general Him Yan mentioned at a conference that road traffic offences include driving without a helmet, driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to obey traffic lights and signs.
They also included turning offences, driving overweight vehicles, driving without registration plates, using a phone while driving, driving without a licence and not wearing safety belts.
Institute for Road Safety director Kong Ratanak said he appreciated the decline in accidents.
However, he mentioned that it’s hard to determine if driver behaviour has actually changed or if drivers only obeyed the laws when police were deployed along the roads.
“We cannot say if behaviours have changed or not. My opinion is that we need to wait and see. However, we are happy at the possibility of changing driver behaviour. We wish to create a long-term change in road safety,” Ratanak said.
Ministry of Public Works and Transportation spokesman Heang Sotheayuth told The Post that from April 7 to May 6, 17,741 driver’s licences had been applied for and 13,365 motorists have applied for driving examinations.
He said: “The number of motorists changing their driving licences and applying for driving examinations increased by two to three-fold going by our statistics.”
