March 16: 5 Killed and 14 Injured

Source: Koh Santepheap

According to a report from the Ministry of Interior of Cambodia, on 16th March 2014 alone, there were 8 traffic cases happening across the country causing 5 death and 14 injuries, 13 of which were serious cases.

The accidents involve the following vehicles:
- Motors: 8
- Cars: 4
- Truck: 1

Most of the time, the traffic accidents were caused by over speeding. An interesting fact to this was that 8 people on their motorbike were severely injured when they did not have their helmet on.

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Irresponsible Driver Escaped from Poilce

Siem Reap:

An unknown driver (said to be a Korean) was stopped by the police officers against the charge of hit-an-run, yet he made another escape from the police.




What a man!
One should be responsible for what they did.

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Bad Driver in Traffic Congestion

Photo: A Moron driving selfishly in a traffic congestion
Photo Credit: Choung Por
Date: 14 March 2014

People should be more considerate while driving in such condition.
I know everyone wishes to get away from this jam as soon as possible, but following the footstep of this driver would result into more trouble.
Let's be obedient and respectful!

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Never stay close to this type of truck in Cambodia

Photo: The big truck carelessly hit the CRV at its back
Photo Credit: Serey Vathana
Date: March 2014

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February 2014, 228 Died and 881 Injured

Source: Koh Santepheap

Within one month of February 2014, the number of people killed in traffic accident has reached 228 which is a 20 percent increase compared to that in January. The number of people injured hit 881 (33% increased).
Here are some data and info-graphic related to the cases happened in February 2014.

Number of people died: 228
- Cambodian: 224
- Foreigners: 4

Number of people injured: 881
- Cambodian: 849
- Foreigners: 32
- Seriously injured: 487 (11 Foreigners)
- Wounded: 394 (21 Foreigners)

Causes of Accidents
- Over-Speeding: 44%
- Drunk: 17%
- Overtaking: 11%
- Priority disobedience: 11%
- Driving on the left: 6%
- Careless turn: 5%
- Others: 4%

Trends:
The traffic accident tends to be tragically worse if we compare the statistic between that of January and the February's.

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Showtime along the road to Koh Pich

This short video clip from YouTube tells how two Cambodian teenagers (1 boy and 1 girl) were riding on their bike going one wheel. This is not an uncommon thing here in Cambodia, as people are used to seeing this thing along big roads in town. However, the only thing weird and awkward about this is the involvement of a young girl. Most of the time, people see male teenagers do this with their male friends, but this time it's a girl.

Source: YouTube, Sabay

Feel free to leave a comment and/or suggestion.

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Irregularity in Traffic: Two in One

11a.m. Phnom Penh, along Kampuchea Krom Blvd. I was able to capture this 2 in 1 shot while I was trying to move myself away from this situation.

Photo: 2 in 1
By: Rethiya Khan
Location: Kampuchea Krom Blvd. Phnom Penh.

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6 killed and 11 injured on the Internation Womenday, Cambodia

Source: Koh Santepheap

The death toll from traffic accident within the International Women's Day in Cambodia has reached a total of 6 people while there were up to 11 injuries, ten of which were severe cases.

Report from the police revealed that there were 11 cases of accident happening across the country. The majority of the accidents take place in Phnom Penh. There were up to 8 motors, 2 cars, and 2 big trucks damaged.

 

Types of vehicle involved in the accidents

The following are the reasons that led the the accidents and the number of cases:

• Over-speed: 4 Times
• Driving on the left: 1 time
• Crossing the road: 1 time
• Vehicle condition: 1 time
• Overtaking: 2 times

13 people did not wear a helmet while driving, mostly after dark.

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Cambodia Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System Annual Report 2009

The RCVIS Annual Report 2009 reviews the main road crash trends in Cambodia compared to previous years. In 2009, 21,519 road crash casualties were reported resulting from 12,538 estimated crashes. 1,717 were fatalities (an average of 4.7 fatalities per day) and 7,022 were severely injured. 18,410 estimated vehicles were involved in those crashes. The number of fatalities increased by 4% compared to 2008. The report also shows that over the last 5 years, the number of fatalities has almost doubled while the number of registered motorized vehicles has increased by 142%. Although the fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles has decreased from 15.1 in 2008 to 12.3 in 2009, the fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants has increased from 12.3 in 2008 to 12.7 in 2009.

The report clearly shows that the leading causes of road crashes, fatalities, and injuries (potentially leading to
disability) are related to speed-related and drunk driving, in combination with low helmet wearing rates,
particularly among passengers and children. Almost 70% of fatalities were due to speed-related and drunk driving behaviours. Additionally, more than 70% of motorbike fatalities had head injuries. We believe that road crashes are preventable, and with appropriate interventions fatalities and injuries leading to permanent disability in Cambodia can be reduced.

Attention to identifying the most vulnerable road users continues to be a serious concern for the Royal
Government of Cambodia and stakeholders. Based on the current report, the majority of fatalities were motorbike riders and pedestrians, representing more than 80% of road crash fatalities. The majority of motorbike fatalities in 2009 were young road users between 15 to 29 years old, while most pedestrians were children and elderly, who are most commonly injured in the afternoon and nighttime hours.

Utilizing a Global Positioning System (GPS) database, the report highlights the most dangerous locations for road users and pedestrians. Significantly, the report disaggregates data related to pedestrian/motorbike/vehicle crashes, age groups, and crashes related to speed-related, drunk driving, or other behaviour related risk factors.

The locations identified in the report as being at high risk for road users and pedestrians are primarily located
along the national Cambodian highways in Phnom Penh, Kampong Cham, and Kandal Provinces.

Furthermore, based on the research study, conducted by Handicap International Belgium and the Institute of
Mobility – Hasselt University in Belgium, road crashes had an enormous impact on the social and economic
welfare of Cambodia in 2009. The study estimates the annual economic cost of road crashes in 2009 to equal approximately 248 million USD. This estimation represents an increase of 135 million USD compared to 2003.

This report details the key findings of road crashes and casualties, and provides recommendations on how these findings can be used to improve road safety in Cambodia.

Download Full Report

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A time in Phnom Penh when people drive badly

A video clip of traffic condition in Phnom Penh.
Even this video is a little bit back into the past, but the way people drive in this clip is still true today.









Adding on top of this, there are those who drive carelessly and those who do not wear helmet when they are on a motor bike. Things should have been better.

However, I do appreciate those good drivers in this clip. Not everyone is bad, of course.

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The Road Blockers

They are small but they rarely come alone.

Once they are on their business you need to wait till they are done.

Photo: A perfect road blocker

Photographer: Rethiyakhan

Location: Kampong Cham

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Cambodia Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System Annual Report 2008

Road crashes are a major cause of death, injury and disability, especially among younger age groups. They
negatively impact on individuals, families and communities, as well as the Royal Government of Cambodia.
The RCVIS Annual Report 2008 reviews the main road crash trends in Cambodia compared to previous years.

The report shows that over the last 5 years, the number of crashes increased by 150% and the number of
fatalities has almost doubled. . At the same time, the population has increased by 6% and the number of
registered motorized vehicles has increased by 132%. The fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles has
decreased from 17.8 in 2007 to 15.1 in 2008 although this number is still more than double the national target, which is set in the National Road Safety Action Plan.

Human error by road users is the leading cause of crashes and casualties on the roads of Cambodia, specifically dangerous behaviour such as excessive and inappropriate speed, drink-driving, dangerous overtaking and low helmet wearing rates. However, road crashes and casualties are preventable. Actions such as road safety education, awareness and enforcement should be increased to change the behaviour of drivers. Particularly, enforcing the new land traffic law is an important milestone for the Royal Government of Cambodia in its struggle against the rapidly increasing crashes and casualties, and worsening road safety situation, as the statistics in this report clearly highlight.

Global Positioning System (GPS) is integrated into this RCVIS Annual Report. This data is useful to identify crash locations, black spots and provides a deeper analysis on crashes. This information is being used by authorities and agencies active in the road safety sector, especially the Ministry of Public Work and Transport for interventions to reduce crashes and casualties on the road of Cambodia.

This report details the key findings of road crashes and casualties, and provides recommendations on how these findings can be used to improve the road safety sector and reduce road traffic crashes and casualties.

Key figures
General figures

- In 2008, 25,796 road traffic casualties were reported to RCVIS, resulting from 10,015 crashes. 1,638 were fatalities (an average of 4.5 fatalities per day) and 7,226 were severely injured. 21,305 vehicles were involved in those crashes2.
- Road crashes increased more proportionally than road traffic and population. The number of road traffic
fatalities has almost doubled over the last 5 years.
- The fatality rate per 100,000 inhabitants increased from 11.7 in 2007 to 12.2 in 2008, but the fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles decreased from 17.8 in 2007 to 15.1 in 2008.
- 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.
- In Phnom Penh, fatalities increased in almost all districts from 2007 to 2008. However, a significant decrease was noticed in Ruessei Keo districts (35% compared to 2007).
- Comparing 2007 to 2008, fatalities during Chinese New Year and Khmer New Year increased by 45% and5% respectively.
- Cambodia has the highest fatality rate per 10,000 registered vehicles among ASEAN member countries.
- The fatality rate of two-wheelers per 10,000 registered two-wheelers decreased from 14.7 in 2007 to 12.6 in 2008.
- Compared to 2007, the number of fatalities on the Asian highway network increased (24% on NR4, 6% on NR5), except on national road 6A and 7 which decreased by 34% and 18% respectively.
- 47% of crashes were due to speeding and another 14% to alcohol abuse. Conversely, 51% of fatalities were due to speeding, while another 18% were caused by alcohol abuse.
- Motorcycles constituted the highest road user category, followed by pedestrians.
- The majority of crashes occurred between 7 pm and 8 pm.

Download Full Report
- RTAVIS 2008

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Cambodia Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System Annual Report 2007

New land traffic law was endorsed by the National Assembly on 20 December 2006. Following the endorsement, Royal Decree was also made to use the law officially on 08 February 2007. While the traffic law has yet to be comprehensively enforced, it is an important milestone and its approval must be considered as a major step taken by the Cambodian government in its struggle against the rapidly increasing road accidents and casualties, and worsening road safety situation, as the statistics in this report clearly highlight.
Since human error by road users is the leading cause of accidents and casualties on the roads of Cambodia, it is critical that actions, particularly ones that focus on education and enforcement, are designed to change the behavior of drivers. In particular, dangerous behavior such as excessive and inappropriate speed, drink-driving, and low helmet wearing rates are contributing to the majority of accident and casualties.

With the integration of GPS data to the RTAVIS report, it is now possible to identify accident locations and black spots. This information adds a new dimension to accident analysis and hopefully can provide the authorities and agencies active in the road safety sector with more complete information from which to base policy and interventions to reduce accidents and casualties on the road of Cambodia.

Key Figures

- In 2007, 27,403 road traffic casualties were reported to RTAVIS, resulting from 9,449 accidents. Among them, 1,545 were fatalities (an average of 4.2 fatalities per day) and 7,150 were severely injured. 16,982 vehicleswere involved in those accidents.
- The number of road traffic fatalities has almost doubled over the last 5 years.
- Road traffic accidents increased more proportionally than road traffic and population.
- There are 17.8 fatalities per 10,000 registered vehicles, a decrease of 2% compared to 2006 but an
increase of 13% compare to 2005. Cambodia has one of the highest fatality rates in the region.
- In Phnom Penh, the number of fatalities has increased by 54% from 2006 to 2007. Most fatal accidents
are motorbike- four wheeler collisions.
- In Phnom Penh, the number of fatalities increased in all districts from 2006 to 2007. A significant increase
was noticed in Dangkao and Ruessei Keo districts.
- In comparison between 2006 and 2007, the number of fatalities on Chinese New Year and Khmer New Year did not increase, but on Pchum Ben and Water Festival the number of fatalities increased by 50% and
46% respectively.
- In comparison, the fatality rate per 10,000 registered two-wheelers has increased 32%. Conversely, fourwheelers (per 10,000 registered four-wheelers) has decreased 7%, compare to 2006.
- The number of fatalities on Asian highways has increased, except national road 4 where the number of
fatalities decreased by 9% in 2007 as compared to 2006.
- 50% of fatalities were due to speeding, while another 19% were caused by alcohol abuse.
- 17% of motorbikes’ riders involved in an accident in 2007, and who were not wearing helmets, suffered from head injuries. This figure decreased to 13% when riders wore a helmet.

Download Full Report:
- RTAVIS 2007

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Cambodia Road Traffic Accident And Victim Information System Annual Report 2006

Abstracts...

The year 2006 saw the adoption by the national assembly of the new traffic law. This new traffic law is an
important milestone and its approval must be considered as a major step taken by the Government of Cambodia in its struggle against road safety issues.

In 2006 the NRSC and HIB have made official their collaboration by signing a cooperation agreement defining the implementation of specific aspects of the National Road Safety Action Plan.

The combination of these two major events gives a legal framework of intervention which will support the
implementation of actions aiming at reducing the impact of road traffic accidents: human behaviour is indeed by far the leading cause of road traffic accidents in Cambodia and awareness and education campaigns alone
are not sufficient to prevent them.

RTAVIS, in 2006, developed a national network of data collection, both with the traffic police and health
structures. GPS use by traffic police was piloted in Phnom Penh, traffic accidents are located accurately and
black spots can be mapped. The use of GPS will be extended in 2007.

The year 2007 will be also crucial since the recently approved law will have to be enforced. That will be done only through the implementation of a broad scope of actions which will address the problems at various levels. The collaboration of the whole of the actors will be required to achieve this objective.

Recommendation 1: Enforce the new land traffic law
The new land traffic law has been signed by the King February 8, 2007. The new law introduces key new
elements that are expected to have a strong impact on the road safety situation:
- Every motorcyclist using a motorbike from 49 cc need to have a driving license;
- Helmet wearing is compulsory for all 2-3 motorized wheelers drivers2;
- Fastening seatbelts is compulsory for all car front seat occupants;
- Blood alcohol concentration limit is provided;
- Fines and penalties are better detailed and adapted to the gravity of the infraction.

The new law will then need to be accompanied by several sub-decrees to describe the enforcement
mechanisms and their timing. A transition period, accompanied by effective awareness and education
campaigns, will be necessary.

Download Full Report
- RTAVIS 2006

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Cambodia Road Traffic Accident And Victim Information System Annual Report 2005

Abstract...

2005 was a crucial year for the improvement of road safety in Cambodia with the creation of the National Road Safety Committee, the adoption of a National Road Safety Action Plan and the elaboration of a new land traffic law.

The National Road Safety Committee, which is chaired by H.E. the Minister of Transport and is composed of high level representatives from various ministries involved in road safety, will be key in leading and coordinating the efforts of various stakeholders to improve road safety.

Cambodia is at the bottom of its vehicle-ownership curve but exponential growth of the number of road traffic casualties is expected in the coming years if no or little action is taken.

2006 will be another critical year with the foreseen adoption of the new land traffic law by the National
Assembly. As the present report will show, human behaviour is indeed by far the leading cause of road
traffic accidents in Cambodia and awareness and education campaigns alone are not sufficient to prevent
them. Increased legal framework and enforcement procedures are now more than ever necessary to
prevent road traffic accidents and make Cambodian roads safer.

Recommendation 1: Adopt the new land traffic law
The first draft of the new land traffic law has been approved by the Council of Ministers and will be now subject to public hearing. The new law will introduce key new elements that are expected to have a strong impact on the road safety situation:
! Every motorcyclist using a motorbike from 49 cc will need to have a driving license1;
! Helmet wearing will be compulsory for all 2-3 motorized wheelers drivers2;
! Fastening seatbelts will be compulsory for all car front seat occupants;
! Blood alcohol concentration limit will be provided;
! Fines and penalties will be better detailed and adapted to the gravity of the infraction.
The new law will then need to be accompanied by several sub-decrees to describe the enforcement mechanisms and their timing. It is indeed, for example, unrealistic to make helmet wearing compulsory
overnight. A transition period, accompanied by effective awareness and education campaigns, will be
necessary.

Download Full Version:
- RTAVIS 2005

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Cambodia Traffic Law

ABSTRACT:

ARTICLE 1:
The land traffic law governs all road users in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

ARTICLE 2:
The law is aimed at:
• Maintaining order and safety in road trafficking, which allowed for public traffic throughout the
Kingdom of Cambodia
• Protecting human and animal lives and environment
• Curbing the effect on human health and the damage of the state and private properties, and
• Curbing the offenses stemmed from the use of the roads.

ARTICLE 3:
The road users have to respect the regulations, which are determined by this law properly.

ARTICLE 4:
Driving of all kinds of vehicles in the Kingdom of Cambodia has to be adhered to the right-hand side.
All vehicles, which are moving along the roads, MUST have drivers.

ARTICLE 5:
In order to carry out the traffic law, the following terms have to be defined:
• The word “Road” refers to the whole size of the trunk/torso of the road and the roadsides
• The word “Trunk of the road” is part of the road left for all kinds of vehicles to traffic.
• Roadsides are parts of both sides of the trunk of the road located outside the cities and towns
(densely populated area) and that it can be parked if necessary
• Sidewalks are the roadsides in cities or towns, which are prepared for pedestrians. The sidewalks are
not allowed for vehicles to park
• The word “Traffic lane” is part of the road separated by dotted or long lines along the road, with
enough width for all kinds of vehicles to traffic in one row.
• The word “Town” refers to the place where buildings or houses are closely constructed with each
other, and that the exit or entrance there are placed with the signs or names of cities or towns to
show the entry or the name of cities or towns with the red lines to show the exit from cities or towns
via roads and with many people trafficking.

Download Full Version
Cambodia Traffic Law

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Cambodia Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System Annual Report 2004

The objective of the Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System (RTAVIS) is to provide government and development stakeholders in Cambodia with accurate, continuous and comprehensive information on road traffic accidents and victims.
It should allow them to better understand the current road safety situation, plan appropriate responses and
evaluate impact of current and future initiatives.
Three different ministries are involved in road traffic accident data collection in Cambodia:
- The Ministry of Public Works and Transport;
- The Ministry of Interior;
- The Ministry of Health.
Although the databases developed by these ministries have been providing relevant indications on the road
safety situation of the country, a need for improvement has been observed:
- The databases are not compatible between each other and there are important discrepancies between
them;
- They under-report the real situation;
- They are limited in their scope.

For those reasons, in early 2004, Handicap International Belgium (HIB), in collaboration with the Cambodian Red Cross (CRC), has proposed to the three ministries to assist them to develop a new system, based on a standardized and more detailed data collection form.

The new system has been progressively developed since the 1st of March 2004, in accordance with the
requirements of the ASEAN and the United Nations and in the framework of Action 2 (Road Accident Data
Systems) of the National Road Safety Action Plan of the Royal Government of Cambodia.
Today, RTAVIS collects, centralizes, analyses and disseminates information provided by three different
sources:
- Public hospitals;
- Private clinics;
- Traffic police.
By the end of 2004, information was being collected at 11 hospitals and private clinics in Phnom Penh and at
the Phnom Penh traffic police.
In 2005, the system will be progressively extended to cover the whole country, in collaboration with the
mentioned ministries and other partners such as the Belgian Technical Cooperation.
The present report analyses the information collected by RTAVIS for the year 2004. It is a synthesis of all the
monthly reports that were published throughout the year.

Download:
RTAVIS 2004

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Small yet Overloaded

Photo: An overloaded small truck
Photographer: Soriya Yin
Location: To be confirmed

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Phnom Penh Bus Service: A Review after a full month service

It has already been one month that the Phnom Penh City Bus has been launched under the cooperation between Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Phnom Penh Municipality. The bus service started its first run on February 05, 2014 with 10 buses serving their customers from 5:30 AM till 8:30 PM daily.




Looking further back into the past, a similar project had also been launched in Cambodia. In 2001, there were also buses deployed to serve the public but it appeared to be a failed effort. With this new project, learning from the earlier steps, the government and JICA hope it will have an improvement and it draws more public attention to using the bus instead of their own mean of transportation which usually lead into congestion and traffic problems.

Ten air-conditioned buses are used for the pilot bus service. The one-month service operates from 5:30 am to 8:00 pm with 36 bus stops in every 10-15 minutes, on Preah Monivong Blvd., from the Old Stadium roundabout to Chbar Ampov. The bus ticket costs 1,500 Riel (US$0.37) and each bus can accommodate from 50 to 60 passengers.

Comments from the bus users reveals that they had a very positive experience from the services and they are more likely the ones to use this same or similar service if it exist in the future. From its facebook page, the Phnom Penh City Bus also gains high popularity. People keep asking for the extension of this pilot and, even more, there are those who wish for the expansion of the running lines to the other main roads of Phnom Penh.

Overall, this year bus project appears to be a more effective one compared to the previous launch in 2001. However, regardless of this success, the bus service tends to have a little bit negative influence on the taxi drivers and Motor Dub, especially the ones whose bases are at somewhere along the road the bus is serving. The government should take this into consideration and try to bring out a win-win solution to traffic problem while eliminating or minimizing its side effects.

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