Law Enforcement

In September 2007, the road traffic law for the Royal Kingdom of Cambodia came into force. The General National Police Commissariat of the Department of Order in the Ministry of Interior (MoI) is responsible for national implementation of the traffic law, with each province/municipality able to determine their own enforcement priorities.

In 2008, the Department of Order has issued comprehensive procedures for enforcement of the traffic law articles covering the type of regulations needed to be followed, training requirements, legal documentation, type of specific enforcement actions and penalties as well as accident-scene and checkpoint management.

A sample of enforcement actions and police responsibilities included in the document are:

• Driver behavior: helmet wearing, speeding, drink-driving, running red lights, seatbelts, overloading, etc..
• Vehicles: correct registration and number plates, technical inspection, four/two wheel driving licenses
• Order on roads: traffic flow management, inspecting road furniture and traffic lights, overseeing lane infringements at intersections
• Road accidents: accident scene management and investigation

The MoI recognizes that collaboration is crucial towards the successful implementation of the traffic law. This collaboration is accomplished in several ways:

1. Working with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) to merge transport-related areas of responsibilities into one coherent enforcement strategy including vehicle registration, number plates, driving licenses overloading, insurance, and border controls. This strategy will be accomplished through the creation of an inter-ministerial inspection panel with representation from the MoI, MPWT, and Ministry of Defense.
2. Seeking advice from the National Road Safety Committee on road safety aspects of the traffic law, as well as their support to facilitate and secure necessary international and regional technical expertise, knowledge sharing and funding. The NRSC is also primarily responsible for educating the public on the road traffic law;
3. Working with non-governmental organizations to educate the public on key elements of the road traffic law through awareness campaigns and other activities.

To effectively implement the traffic law, the MoI is training traffic police in all 24 provinces in enforcement procedures and actions. In the second half of 2008, organizations such as Handicap International Belgium, Global Road Safety Partnership and JICA will support the police with technical assistance aimed at training the officers on traffic law enforcement and good practice policing methods focused on reduced road fatalities. Long-term national enforcement strategies and resources required will also be developed and defined during this technical assistance.

Further information on these trainings will be available shortly on this page.

• Phnom Penh Post:Vehicles to be confiscated

• AFP. July 17, 2009: Cambodia Tries to Tame Traffic Chaos

• Ministry of Interior (MoI)
• Ministry of Public Work and Transport (MoPWT)
• Handicap International Belgium
• National Road Safety Committee (NRSC)
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
• Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP)
• National Traffic Police