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Acknowledgements

The achievement of this research is due to the strong efforts of the group members:

Moul Kim Hoeun, Meng Sivlinh, Meas Sopheaktra, Menh Kimsin, and Moul

Channrith, and especially, based on the instructions and encouragement from Mr.

Mom Seilakboth, lecturer at the University of Cambodia. The group members would

like to convey the deep thanks to Lecturer Mom Seilakboth for his interesting lecture

and attention. Through this research paper, there will be better land traffic law

enforcement in Cambodia.

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Contents

Acknowledgements……………………………………………..1

I. Introduction……………………………………………..3

II. Road Accident Definition……………………………….3

III. Goals of Research……………………………………….4

IV. Historical Background…………………………………..5

V. Implementation of Traffic Law…………………………6

VI. Traffic Accidents………………………………………..9

A. Causes of Traffic Accident…………………………………11

B. Economical and social Bad effects…………………………12

C. Prevention of Traffic Accident……………………………..13

VII. Conclusion……………………………………………..19

Page 3 of 19

I. Introduction

Road crashes are a major cause of deaths, injuries, property damages, and disabilities,

in current society of Cambodia. They have negative impacts on individuals, families

and communities, as well as the Royal Government of Cambodia. Cambodia is facing

many social issues such as gun violence, domestic violence, drug abuses, HIV/AIDS,

and after the end of war, people were not only disabled due to unexploded ordnance,

but now also to road accidents. Currently, bad impact of traffic accidents is, too, one

of the obstacles for the country’s development. Even though, the Royal Government

of Cambodia has prioritized and encouraged the implementation of road safety plans,

traffic law and behavior change, the rate of accident is still high. Therefore, in order to

reduce the rate, there must be active participations of all people and stakeholders, or

the success is not expected. The Government cannot play the role alone in solving the

problems. Traffic accidents is a complicated issue that affect not only lives, but very

often, they also result in the loss of human resources, public orders as well as an

enormous amount of private and public properties.

II. Road Accident Definition

A road accident is an unplanned and unfortunate event involving at least one vehicle

within the road environment that results in damage to property and/or injury or death

to a road user. Based on the report format of the traffic police and MPWT, accidents

are classified into four severity categories: fatal, serious injury, slight injury, and

property damage only1. These are defined in the following paragraphs.

1 Country Report, ADB-ASEAN Regional Road Safety Program

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A fatal casualty in a road accident is one in which the victim dies within 30

days of the accident.

A seriously injured casualty is one who has suffered injuries such as a

fracture, concussion, internal lesion, crushing, severe cuts, or severe general

shock requiring medical treatment or hospitalization such that the person is

unable to perform ordinary pursuits for at least 7 days.

A slightly injured casualty is one who is conveyed to a hospital from the

scene in an ambulance or otherwise, one who requires subsequent medical

treatment entailing hospitalization and medical leave of no more than 4 days.

Accidents are assigned the severity group according to the most seriously

affected casualty in the accident. All reported accidents not involving injuries

are classified as property damage only accidents.

III. Goals of Research

Strong efforts were made to conduct research on this important subject in order to

envision Cambodia to be a safe and peaceful place where all road users and relevant

law enforcers completely respect the traffic law and rights of others daily and no

people are killed or injured. Also, the goals are to improve road safety in Cambodia

through: the subsequent reduction of number of cases and casualties resulting from

road traffic accidents, especially in Phnom Penh, where traffic is currently under

danger for all road users, changing behaviors of road users from driving with their

own habit towards a firm respect of traffic law and rights of others on roads,

promoting transparent and effective traffic law enforcement and non-violence means

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to solve dispute on roads, promoting and strengthening the self-led national efforts to

reduce road traffic accident rates and casualties.

IV. Historical Background

The Kingdom of Cambodia, in Southeast Asia, has a total area of 181,035 km2, which

consist of 176,520 km2 of land and 4,520 km2 of water. The country shares an 803-

km border with Thailand in the north and west, a 541-km border with the Lao

People’s Democratic Republic in the northeast, a 1,228-km border with Viet Nam in

the east and southeast, and a coastline along the Gulf of Thailand that is roughly 443

km2. The land area of Cambodia forms a wide shallow basin that includes a large

central plain traversed by the Mekong River and its tributaries flowing from the

northwest to the southeast of Cambodia, then through the lower delta in Viet Nam to

the outlet into the South China Sea. Following a 4-year struggle, Khmer Rouge forces

controlled the country in 1975–1979, and people were evacuated from all cities and

towns. Millions of Cambodians were subsequently executed, and many more died

from horrible living conditions. Cambodia’s economy continued to suffer from

decades of war, until a coalition government brought renewed stability and the

surrender of the remaining Khmer Rouge forces in 1998. The population of Cambodia

is estimated to be over 13 million (World Factbook, December 2003) with low life

expectancy (at 55.49 years for males and 60.47 years for females); high infant

mortality (at 75.94 deaths per 1,000 live births); and a death rate at 9.26 deaths per

1,000 people due to AIDS, accidents, and other causes. The gross domestic product

2 Country Report, ADB-ASEAN Regional Road Safety Program

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(GDP) per capita is estimated to be about $269 (Ministry of Economy and Finance

2002) and according to the ADB, 36% of the populations are below the poverty line.

Cambodia’s traffic law was enacted in 1991. This traffic law does not contain

comprehensive provisions to cope with modern traffic conditions on Cambodia’s

current road situation and thanks to the progress of all sectors in the country, which

has affected the implementation of the land traffic law, a draft of a new traffic law

was developed and submitted to the National Assembly for approval in order to make

the law compatible with the changing situations of the current traffic and the National

Assembly of the Kingdom of Cambodia has approved the new Cambodian Land

Traffic Law on 20th December 2006 at the fifth National Assembly Meeting of the

third legislature, with 73 majority votes out of 77 of the lawmakers present.

V. Implementation of Traffic Law

The traffic law in Cambodia, at the presence, is not yet fully enforced and respected

by both traffic law enforcement officials and road users. Currently, there are not

proper arrangements for the traffic in Phnom Penh. Despite new traffic law adopted,

its implementation is still poor.

In town, the vehicles have to be stopped or parked for carrying or loading

or unloading goods or passengers not beyond 25 centimeters from the

sidewalk and at least 5 meters from the junction or intersection or the

curved road and at least 10 meters in between the junctions or

intersections or the curved roads of the boulevard. When outside town, all

vehicles have to be stopped or parked at least 10 meters away from the

junctions or intersections or the curved roads3.

3 Article 24, point 5 of the land traffic law

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The authorities do not pay attention to making the traffic orderly.

Disorderly parking can be seen at almost every main street, intersection,

and mostly in front of big businesses, especially restaurants and bars that

seem belonging to the rich and the power. They park two or three lines

into the streets and at the corners of intersections, which frequently cause

traffic jam or accident, but authorities never take actions according to this

article of the traffic law. However, authorities take action only with small

street vendors. They should take equal actions with both big and small

businesses.

For actions of traffic police in implementing traffic law, long time ago, people have

strongly criticized the attitude of traffic police because most of them do not follow

the law when they stop or fine any drivers that they think violate the traffic law. They

do not have a proper means to stop drivers or riders. They usually use means that

frequently cause accident or injury or sometimes death to the driver because the

driver tries to escape from police. The dangerous actions of the police are that they

pull the arm, shirt, hair that cause the riders fall to the ground, and hit them with their

batons. After they stop the abuser they use abusive language with them. When they

have verbal quarrel with driver / riders, in some cases, they hit their opponents

unconsciously. Such violent behaviors of law enforcement officials should be

punished by the law.

Furthermore, due to the lack of knowledge from people about the law, traffic police

take chances to fine the offenders of the traffic law with amount higher than that

determined by law, especially people from the countryside when they come into the

capital and they do not know how the implementation of the traffic law is. When the

officers fine such that people, they threaten to bring their motorcycles to traffic police

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headquarter and keep them for long time, if the people refuse to pay them the amount.

In addition, traffic officers do not issue the receipt for those fined. The Government

should take serious legal acts in accordance with the traffic law against traffic officers

who use their powers to extort money from road users. The law states that:

The police officers or traffic agents shall be imprisoned from one (1) year

to three (3) years and/or fine from two millions (2,000,000) Riels to six

millions (6,000,000) Riels to any traffic officers or traffic agents that:

Forced and demanded the fining money against the amounts set by the

law.

Obtaining money by using the incorrect fining tickets or do not issue

fining tickets to the fined driver.

Shall be punished by jailing from one (1) year to three (3) years and or

fine from two millions (2,000.000) Riels to six millions (6,000.000)

Riels to any government staff or staff working directly or those who

have duty or task in managing the driving schools or engaging in the

issuance of the driving license and vehicle identification card and have

committed wrong to the article 40 or 48 of this provision4.

The inequitable enforcement of the law is that traffic officers are scared to enforce the

law against those who drive luxurious cars. They know that those are high ranking

government officials. So, they do not care, even though, those cars do not have

number plates or the drivers commit other serious offenses against the traffic law

because they are afraid they can face repercussions on their jobs. Particularly, they

dare not stop the car with military and police number plate.

The participation of citizens in implementing the land traffic law: the law

implementation of the public is still very poor. Most of people do not seem to know

how to respect the rules for driving. Some people know clearly about the traffic rules,

4 Article 72, paragraph 3 of the land traffic law

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but they do not respect the rules. It means that the law enforcement and punishment

against those violate the rules is too weak. As being seen, many motorists do not

respect the traffic lights or traffic police when they command the traffic during

electric shorts or traffic jam. They stop when the red light appears. They do not stop

in front of the white zebra line crossing assigned for pedestrians and then move

forward step by step or faster across the red light, and such violation usually prompts

traffic jam and accident. So, traffic police should equally take serious actions and fine

those who violate traffic law or there is no good order in the streets.

VI. Traffic Accidents

In recent years, the rate of traffic accident has risen remarkably in Cambodia. In 2008,

there were 25,796 road traffic casualties, resulting from 10,015 crashes, among of

these, 1,638 were fatalities (an average of 4.5 fatalities per day) and 7,226 were

severely injured, and involving with 21,05 vehicles in these crashes5.

In Phnom Penh, 53% of casualties were injured in motorcycle collisions, and 21%

were injured in motorcycle-four-wheeler. Conversely, only 28% of fatalities occurred

in motorcycle-motorcycle collisions, while 49% of fatalities occurred in motorcycle-

four-wheeler collisions. Cambodia has the highest fatality rate per 10,000 registered

vehicles among ASEAN member countries6.

The average casualty age was 28. People aged between 20 and 29 years old

represented the highest percentage of fatalities and they have significantly increased

from year to year. People aged between 25-29 years old accounted for 23% of

5 Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System, Annual Report 2008-Summary6 Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System, Annual Report 2008-Summary

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fatalities although they represent only 9% of the population. The number of casualties

aged more than 55 years old increased by 12% from 2007 to 2008. Among casualties

from this age group, 47% were motorcycle riders, 27% were pedestrian and 14% were

bicycle riders. The proportion of young adults (age 20 to 29) affected by crashes was

greater in Phnom Penh than in the provinces (50% compared to 42%)7.

Motorcycle users accounted for the largest majority of casualties and fatalities (77%

and 68% respectively). Children, 9 years old and under, were most at risk as

pedestrians and passengers. The percentage of motorcycle fatalities was higher in

Phnom Penh than in the rest of the country and was much higher among the 20 and 29

year old age group. Children pedestrian fatalities aged between 0 and 14 years old

decreased by 13% from 2007 to 2008. However, 30% of all pedestrian fatalities were

children aged between 0 and 14 years old8.

Severity of injuries: 4% of casualties died immediately at the scene of the crash, 2%

died at the hospital. 28% of casualties were severely injured (requiring surgery or

admission to intensive care). 45% of casualties with serious injuries were transferred

to a hospital by an ambulance.

Nature of injuries: Head trauma accounted for 86% of motorcycle fatalities. 44% of

motorcycle riders suffered from head trauma. 27% of casualties suffered upper/lower

wound/cuts and 18% suffered from upper/lower fracture accounts. A higher

percentage of head traumas resulting from motorcycle accidents was noticed in

Phnom Penh compared to the provinces (85% compare to 75%). 46% of motorcycle

casualties who suffered from head trauma were aged between 20 and 29 years old.

7 Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System, Annual Report 2008-Summary8 Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System, Annual Report 2008-Summary

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Only 14% of four-wheel vehicle drivers who were injured in a crash in 2008 wore a

seatbelt at the time of the crash. Among them, 82% were car drivers 9.

The Percentage of fatal crashes occurring at night (30%) was much higher than day

time (20%). A higher percentage of crashes were noticed during weekends (Saturday

and Sunday). The highest number of fatalities occurred on Saturdays. The largest

number of crashes occurred between 5 pm and 6 pm during week days, and between 7

pm and 8 pm during the weekend. In total, a higher proportion fatal crashes at night

were noticed in Phnom Penh (60%) compared to the rest of the country (35%)10.

A. Causes of Traffic Accident

Human error: Human error is responsible for more than 98% of casualties11. Human

errors: fast speed, alcohol abuse, not respect right of way, dangerous overtaking,

changing lane without due care, driving against flow of traffic, fatigue or illness, not

respect traffic light and signs, wrong use of high beams, or improper use of mobile

phones. More than 50% of fatalities were due to speeding while another 18% were

caused by alcohol abuse. Crashes resulting from not respecting the right of way and

dangerous overtaking occurred more during the daytime than nigh time, but crashes

involving alcohol abuse were more of a problem during the night time than daytime.

Road and weather conditions are responsible for less than 10% of casualties, while

vehicle defect is responsible for only 5% of casualties. Other elements of the cause

are lack of traffic law knowledge, no respect for the law.

9 Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System, Annual Report 2008-Summary10 Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System, Annual Report 2008-Summary11 Cambodia Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System, Annual Report 2005

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B. Economical and social Bad effects

Road accidents have bad impacts on household incomes and the national economy,

and negatively affect the occupation of people. A research figures12 show that farmers

are the largest group of fatalities and casualties, 30% and 25% respectively. The

reasons of the highest percentage are that most of farmers do not have enough

information or knowledge about how to prevent the accident. Farmers’ access to

information about this is very limited for rural areas. Another reason is that they have

difficult access to health care facilities when they get accident because of road

conditions, far from reliable hospitals, and they do not have adequate resources for

their treatment cost. The road accident is the major obstacle of family income if the

victims are main source of family support.

The figure indicates that the highest fatalities and casualties were followed by workers

with 19% casualties while students with 22% casualties and 15% fatalities. Workers

are one of the main sources of incomes. In poor families, especially families with old

people, their living rely on their sons and daughters who are usually the garment

factory and construction workers. When these people get accident, their financial

situations are deteriorating. And if the victim become disable for life, this is the

saddest tragedy. As for students, if they get wounded by road crashes, their family

does not only cost money, but they also lose their studies, which are good ways that

lead them to bright future.

12 Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System, Annual Report 2008-Summary

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Another important source of family income is vendors / small businesses, which the

figure shows that, constitute 5% of casualties and 4% of fatalities. Motor taxi drivers

that are also the source of income constitute 3% of casualties and 2% of fatalities.

In short, the groups of labor force mentioned above are the only sources for family

support. They are considered as the main pillars of the house. If the pillars collapse,

the whole family also falls down. Students are different from this, but they are also

the cell for social development. They are the sources of human resources that can

bring the economical development for the country.

C. Prevention of Traffic Accident

Enforce speeding, drink-driving, and helmet laws: The top three causes of road

traffic crashes, fatalities and injuries in Cambodia are caused by speeding, drink-

driving and non-helmet wearing. It is highly recommended that traffic law

enforcement prioritize and focus resources on these three risky behaviors, both in the

urban areas and along National Roads. The traffic police recent actions to enforce

helmet wearing nationally, and speeding and drink-driving in Phnom Penh, are

encouraging signs. However, efforts must be sustained, consistent and expanded in

order to deter the public from these dangerous behaviors on the road. A few specific

recommendations are13:

Revise the traffic law to include mandatory helmet wearing for passengers and

increase the existing fine

Set up checkpoints at nighttime with particular focus on drinking and driving

13 Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System, Annual Report 2008-Summary

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Set up speed checkpoints on black spot locations, particularly those characterized

high frequency of speed-related crashes.

Regular trainings and appropriate equipment should be provided to traffic police

to effectively enforce these laws

Awareness and education on these three risk factors should be expanded, and

directly linked to the enforcement actions of the police.

Targeted Awareness Campaigns and Education: Targeted road safety campaigns

are more effective than campaigns that target the general population. Limited

resources could be better used by focusing efforts on those groups or events

exhibiting the highest frequency of crashes and casualties. Two main priorities are

recommended:

Young motorists: the most at-risk group on the roads of Cambodia is young people

aged 15-29 accounting for 46% of all road traffic fatalities. Campaigns should

target this vulnerable group, tailoring the messages to be relevant to their daily

lives. Increased research into their attitudes and behaviors while driving would

greatly assist the efforts in developing appropriate campaigns for this age group.

Long national holidays: Crashes and casualties spike during national holidays in

particular Khmer New Year, Chinese New Year and the Water Festival. It is

recommended that government authorities and other organizations active in road

safety focus awareness campaigns (and enforcement measures) on risky behavior,

particularly speeding, drink-driving, helmet wearing, and overloading which are

common during the holiday travel period.

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Improve Driver Training Schools: driving schools are the training grounds for the

future drivers of Cambodia. Therefore, it is essential that safe driving behavior is

instilled in these learners. RCVIS recommends that a rigorous evaluation of the

driving schools is conducted by the Department of Land Transport or an independent

entity to assess the extent the trainers are teaching the correct road rules. Furthermore,

the driver training curriculum should stress the key risky behaviors exhibited on the

roads of Cambodia as a means of educating the new drivers on the importance of safe

driving.

Creating safer environments along roads for children and pedestrians: the roads

of Cambodian can be a dangerous place for pedestrians and young children.

Pedestrians account for 13% of all fatalities, and 30% of those were children aged

between 0 and 14 years old. It is recommended that specific simple measures are

taken immediately to protect pedestrians and children such as:

Safe School Zones: Promote the safety of children when entering and exiting

schools through the creation of safe school zones. These measures could include

enforcing appropriate speed limits in those zones, and ensuring school cross-walks

are respected and clearly-marked;

Pedestrian Infrastructure and access: Municipal transport and public work

authorities, in particular, should ensure that proper facilities exist for pedestrians

throughout urban areas which separate them from motorized traffic. There should

be proper roadside facilities including footways on urban roads, footpaths on rural

highways, and adequate crossing facilities (pedestrian refuges, medians, raised

pedestrian crossings).

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In both actions, the traffic police must play a role in enforcing violations. The

National Road Safety Council (NRSC) and road safety NGOs can play the role of

educating the public on the importance of respecting vulnerable road users.

Safety protection is another effective way of preventing accidental injury. Seat belts

and child restraints have been shown to be effective in reducing deaths and the

severity of injuries to occupants of road vehicles. Helmets have been shown to reduce

the risk of head injuries among motorcyclists by as much as 85 per cent.

Vehicle registration should be strengthened with technical inspection and driving

license restriction. New traffic laws on wearing seat belt and helmet, and obliging all

motorcyclists to have driving license should be enforced strictly. Cooperation and

collaboration between implementing agencies/stakeholders are required for

strengthening traffic laws and other regulations.

National Road Safety Council should be established to steer and coordinate road

safety activities and working committees of all over the country. The Land Transport

Department under Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) will play an

important role in the NRSC secretariat by collecting, compiling and analyzing

periodical reports on road accidents. The Land Transport Department should

broadcast and propose to NRSC on how to initiate further road safety improvement.

The traffic police should be strengthened in both management and technical skills.

Traffic police needs to be trained and its capacity and skill upgraded. Adequate

equipment and facilities need to be provided as well.

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The research center/unit for road safety needs to be created immediately to carry out

the investigation on road environment, determine black spots, and analyze road

accident issues including costing accident losses. This unit may be responsible for

developing the annual country report on the road safety situation in Cambodia. Black

spots should be identified and the responsible agencies should take action to minimize

them. Road signs and signals, road markings, and traffic lights should be sufficiently

provided throughout the country, especially in urban areas.

Provide walkways and passing bridges for pedestrians at traffic-congested areas. The

road device structure should be designed according to sound engineering and should

be safe for the road users. Future road designs and road project implementation should

consider road safety audit and allocate budget to improve the road environment and

other safety issues.

Provide sufficient street lights and other facilities for traffic-congested road networks

in urban areas and cities. Rear and side markings for all vehicles running on the road

should be installed and visible during nighttime.

National format for accident recording should be developed and provided to all traffic

police officers in the whole country. ResNet or AsNet is an important system for

sharing data between involving agencies, at least one completed set should be

installed and operating in the MPWT. Technical and financial support for setting this

up is required.

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Launching awareness campaigns on traffic law and road safety is immediately

required. Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MOEYS) should improve the road

traffic curriculum for school programs in complying with the new traffic law.

Education should be provided to the public including university students and monks.

Practical sessions should be included in the education and campaign program, should

be done regularly for the public or road users.

Minimizing overloading by mind-set of the truck and taxi drivers, could lead in

reduce fuel costs and eliminate illegal checking posts. Strengthening traffic law

enforcement and penalizing undisciplined drivers could lead to better driving habits

and reduce accident casualties.

VII. Conclusion

Road accidents are worrisome problems for the whole nation. These phenomena are

involving everyone in the society, so all members of society have to work hard and

closely cooperate to eliminate these things. In order to solve these matters effectively,

active participations of all people and competent institutions are needed, especially

the public must respect the law and find out how bad impacts resulting from the

ignorance of laws. Law states that all motorcyclists must wear helmets. If they are

ignore of what the law state, and do not wear helmets, they can lose their lives when

accident happen to them. The respect of the law is for personal safety of road

occupants themselves. To reduce traffic accident, not only wear helmets and fasten

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seatbelts, but all road users have to be careful during riding and driving, not to speed

and load up over what the law limited because overloading and speed-up are easy to

cause accident. Motorists must understand and patient with each another when

traveling on roads, and remember that if you are drunk, do not drive vehicles because

your own mistake and behavior can lose other’s life and property.

Law enforcement officials, especially traffic police, must also respect the law when

fulfilling their duties. The officials must not use powers to threaten and extort money

from people who do not know the law. Instead, they should explain and fine them

according to what the law states. Traffic police should be good example for the public

in respecting the law. They should not use violent acts against road users. Traffic

police also should equally implement the law among the powerful, the rich, and the

poor. In short, both citizens and law enforcement officials should properly respect the

traffic law for general safety, social development, and the image of the country.