Strict Traffic Law Enforcement Leads to a Drop in Accidents and Casualties
Interior Minister Sar Kheng is shown addressing the press. Photo: Sar Kheng Facebook page.
- Torn Chanritheara
- May 15, 2020 1:02 PM
This shows the need to continue doing so, Interior Minister Sar Kheng said
PHNOM PENH—Interior Minister Sar Kheng Friday (May 15) said that the number of traffic accidents have decreased over the last two weeks due to the strengthening of traffic-law enforcement. He added that strict enforcement would continue even though some people have voiced concern over it.
“[E]nforcing road traffic laws [has] resulted in significant decrease [of] fatality rate, injuries and traffic accidents in the first two weeks of May compared to the period before the enforcement,” Kheng wrote on his Facebook page.
Since May 1, the authorities have been enforcing stricter traffic regulations that include higher fines for violations in a bid to decrease the number of road accidents, which have claimed many lives in recent years.
According to Kheng, official data show that the number of accidents from May 1 to 14 decreased by 26. The number of people injured due to accidents went down by 81 and deaths by four compared to the same period in April. Comparing the first two weeks of May to the same period in 2019, the drop in accidents is even more striking: The number of traffic accidents decreased by 68, injuries by 91 and deaths by 20.
“This clearly indicates,” Kheng said, “that our people are really understanding and participating in implementing the road traffic law.”
Kheng, who is also vice prime minister, said that he has received recommendations and requests to delay or suspend this stricter enforcement policy.
But, he said, in his capacity of head of the National Road Safety Committee, he felt that any delay or suspension of stricter enforcement would have been akin to allowing more and more Cambodians to be injured and killed in traffic accidents, which is always a tragedy for families as well as society.
In his message, Kheng reminded the authorities and all relevant officials to carry their duties while adhering to their code of professional conduct and discipline, and fulfill their duties to serve the interests of the country and its people, reducing or eliminating any negative incident during the traffic-law enforcement campaign.
In the first 11 days of stricter enforcement, the authorities fined 19,004 vehicles for traffic law violations. This involved 14,271 motor vehicles and 4,733 cars, National Police Deputy Commissioner Hem Yan said at a recent press conference.
