Helmet enforcement campaign sees reduction in road accident death toll
MINISTER of Inter ior Sar Kheng on Monday commended t ra f fic police t hroughout t he Kingdom for stepping up t he government’s “wearing a helmet” campaign, which he said had reduced death toll among motorcycle r iders.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Sar Kheng said during the 13-day campaign from July 19-31, deaths from traffic accidents had notably decreased compared to the same period from July 6-18.
“I’d like to express my admiration for t he great spirit of t he securit y forces, especia lly t he tra f fic police nationw ide, who strived to perform their duties i n enforcing the law and tightening the education campaign to ensure a ll motorcycle riders wore helmets,” he said.
Fig ures released by t he Ministr y of Interior’s Department of Traffic Police and Public Order showed t hat from July 19-31, 31 of t he 40 motorcycle riders who died in road accidents did not wear a helmet. In t he July 6-18 period, 36 of t he 49 motorcycle drivers who died did not wear a helmet.
The ministr y officia lly launched the one-month “wearing a helmet” campaign on July 17. Officers were not required to impose a fine but
were obliged to stop motorcycle riders from t ravelling until t hey find a helmet.
National Road Safet y Committee secretar y-genera l Him Yan could not be reached for comment on Monday. But late last month, he said in just one week, nearly 20,000 motorcycle riders and passengers were stopped by traffic police for not wearing a helmet.
Institute for Road Safet y acting director Kong Ratanak said since the campaign was launched, his organisation had seen an increase in the number of people who wore helmets. But he expressed fears that their numbers would decline after the campaign ended.
Ratanak pointed out that most people were more fearful of t he traffic police t han t hey were of a road accident. He ca lled for permanent enforcement of the law and the campaign.
“Prev iously, t he tra f fic police sta rted the education campaign but fa iled to tighten it, so fewer people wore a helmet.
“But when they conducted t he campaign and tightened it, we saw that more people started wearing it, not only in Phnom Penh but a lso in various prov inces . . . This is a good mechanism so the campaign should be conducted reg ularly,” he said.
A report issued by the Ministr y of Interior said road accidents claimed 1,033 lives and injured 3,224 in t he first si x months of t his year. This is an increase of 103 and 827, respectively, compared to t he same period last year.