Traffic deaths up from last year, says ministry

Khouth Sophak Chakrya | Publication date 30 November 2017 | 08:47 ICT

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Ministry of Interior’s National Committee for Road Safety present a report on the Kingdom's traffic accidents on Tuesday in Phnom Penh. Photo supplied

Nearly 1,500 people died from traffic accidents in the Kingdom during the first 10 months of this year, a minor increase over last year, though the number of injured fell significantly, according to a report by the Ministry of Interior’s National Committee for Road Safety released on Tuesday.

The report shows that there were a total of 1,469 fatalities, representing a 3 percent increase over the same period in 2016. A total of 4,530 people sustained injuries, marking an 18 percent decrease from last year.

Him Yan, deputy National Police chief and head of the road safety committee, said traffic accidents remained a “pressing problem”, and most involved motorbikes.

The total number of traffic accidents – 2,958 – was practically unchanged from last year, according to the report.

Speeding was the contributing factor to 36 percent of the traffic accidents, the report shows.

Ear Chariya, founder of the Road Safety Institute, said the increase in deaths showed that enforcement of the Traffic Law was still lacking and that people don’t yet fully understand it.