Prime Minister Hun Manet has called on all road users to respect the Kingdom’s traffic laws and drive responsibly and cautiously.
The call came as he presided over the groundbreaking of the Chak Angre Krom-Prek Pra Bridge on February 19.
He said people need to demonstrate more self-control behind the wheel, noting that the current road toll is higher than the lives lost to known killers like landmines.
“I hope that even when people are driving in a place where there are no stationed traffic police, they drive responsibly. I am sure that they do not want to damage anyone’s property, or take a life, including their own,” he added.
The prime minister also instructed that the police tighten the enforcement of traffic laws, especially regarding those who drive under the influence of alcohol in the capital and provinces.
He demanded that hit-and-run drivers be held accountable for their own mistakes.
Manet explained that at present, Phnom Penh has a population of over three million, including Phnom Penh residents and those from different provinces. This meant the problem of traffic accidents needs to be addressed immediately.
“The issue of road crashes has been examined since the previous mandate of former Prime Minister Hun Sen. There is no need to wait any longer. We need to solve this problem, perhaps through increasing the capacity of public transport with a subway or monorail stem,” he said.
Kong Sovann, founder and strategic adviser at the Cambodia Safety Solution Organisation (CaMSafe), supported Manet’s calls, adding that he also urged all road users to respect the laws.
“I believe that driver education and dissemination of the law should be carried out more widely, while the laws should also be tightened. We also need to consider safer road engineering and accident response mechanisms,” he said.
He suggested that the government introduce an alcohol law, saying it would contribute to a reduction in traffic accidents.
In 2023, there were a total of 3,317 traffic incidents, with 55 per cent of them occurring at night.
The accidents resulted in 1,590 deaths and 4,515 injuries. 80 per cent of the fatalities involved motorbike drivers, with 69 per cent of them not wearing helmets, according to the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC).
The main causes of traffic accidents were speed, failure to respect the right of way, careless overtaking and driving in the opposite direction.
