Traffic Carnage Continues

Khmer Times/Jack Laurenson

Wednesday, 16 September 2015

SIHANOUKVILLE (Khmer Times) – Cambodia is fighting a war against its own roads, and it appears to be losing – especially on the coast. 

Social media feeds are frequently crowded with pictures of crumpled cars and bloodied, broken bodies. They are not photos from war-zones, but are uploaded by local residents and Khmer journalists living here on Cambodia’s coast.  Seeing graphic images of carnage and tragedy on coastal roads here – smashed motorcycles, overturned trucks and bloodied or dead road-users – is almost an everyday occurrence for a province which records many of Cambodia’s road fatalities. 

In the past month alone, the highways and roads of Preah Sihanouk have regularly been spattered with the blood of unfortunate motorists and pedestrians, as well as the shattered glass and warped metal of their wrecked vehicles. 

Last week, pictures were published of a 20-foot truck that had veered off the road and crashed into the front of a shop, causing carnage and injury. 

In the days before, there were television reports of drivers colliding with buffalo, pictures of smashed scooters and dead, helmet-less riders, alongside images of others being rushed to hospitals, bloodied and unconscious. 

A Costly Tragedy

Doctors in Sihanoukville say that a significant percentage of their patients arrive with injuries sustained in traffic accidents, with broken bones and head injuries topping the list. 

Medical facilities in Sihanoukville are frequently inadequate and many patients have to be sent to the capital for better care. One doctor told Khmer Times recently that it is not uncommon to refer a traffic accident patient elsewhere, knowing he or she will not survive. 

National statistics paint a picture of a broader country-wide problem.  Last year, for example, around 4,350 traffic accidents and 2,400 deaths were documented by Cambodian officials. An average of 6.5 motorists and road-users are killed per day, according to reports by the World Health Organization. Others think the number is higher. 

Handicap International, for example, says official data may be unreliable.  If police statistics were properly combined with data from other organizations, such as the Ministry for Health, the official numbers of deaths and injuries would rise, the NGO says. Many traffic accidents go unreported and unrecorded, others say. 

Budget Constraints 

Many residents of Sihanoukville say roads here are policed to a different standard than other cities, such as Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. Some local residents say traffic police are more concerned with supplementing their low incomes than maintaining safety and security. Considering the modest budget of the department responsible for their pay, this seems believable. 

The National Road Safety Committee, which is responsible for training and paying the Kingdom’s traffic police to uphold road traffic laws, is constrained by a budget of just $300,000, according to government sources. 

Although there are plans to increase the budget to $500,000, it will still represent just 0.02 percent of the national budget. 

Higher Fines

The Land Traffic Law is set to be updated again in January, with significant increases for fines for offences such as speeding and talking on the phone, which cause accidents. Fines for not wearing a helmet are also set to rise.

According to organizations like Asia Injury Prevention Foundation, more laws are a step in the right direction but should be accompanied by increased funding, stricter enforcement and more awareness initiatives for drivers and passengers. 

Measures to improve safety on Cambodia’s roads are critical. According to data compiled by the WHO and the UN, traffic accidents still cause more deaths in Cambodia than all types of cancer, as well as landmines and lightning. 

Here on the coast, daily exposure to images of traffic tragedy is set to continue as the Kingdom perseveres with its fight to improve road safety.