PHNOM PENH, Aug. 13-(Kyodo), Cambodia is experiencing yearly increases in traffic fatalities, with an average of four people killed daily in 2006 compared with only three the previous year, according to a report Monday.
The figures were contained in a report released by the Cambodia Road Traffic Accident and Victim Information System, a joint project involving the Cambodian government and Handicap International Belgium.
Cambodia's traffic fatality rate, calculated in comparison with the number of inhabitants, is still low compared to neighbor countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. But it is among the region's highest when calculated in comparison with the number of vehicles in use in the country and the length of the paved road network.
In June, 1,531 casualties were reported, among them 103 deaths. Most involved motorbike users who were not wearing helmets.
In Phnom Penh, the capital, fatalities increased by 6 percent during the first six months in 2007 compared with the same period last year, though the number decreased by 3 percent in the provinces.
Human error is responsible for more than 90 percent of road accidents in Cambodia, the report said, citing high speed, non-respect of give way rules and drunk driving.
Other factors are play include the fast-growing vehicle ownership rate, the newly developed road infrastructure allowing speed increases and the heterogeneous traffic mix, combined with weak enforcement of traffic regulations and lack of road safety education.
Chum Iak, vice chairman of the National Road Safety Committee, said Asian countries have set a common goal of reducing traffic fatalities to five per 10,000 vehicles by 2010 and to two by 2020.
Last year, there were 18 fatalities per 1,000 registered vehicles in Cambodia.
