Some 1,731 Cambodians killed in road accidents in 11 months

Dec 13, 2011
Xinhua

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) -- Road accidents have claimed 1, 731 Cambodian lives and injured 7,885 others in the first 11 months this year, Touch Chan Kosal, secretary of state at the Ministry of Public Work and Transport, said Tuesday.

"Traffic accidents have become the No. 1 killer in Cambodia among those of HIV/AIDS and mine casualties--the number of the deaths has not declined yet despite our traffic safety campaigns," he told a workshop on traffic safety. "It is the most concerned for the government."

Every year, the accidents have left thousands of orphans, widows and disabled persons, he said.

Some 72 percent of the accidents involved motorcycle drivers. Most of the dead were head-hit.

He said about 51 percent of the accidents was due to over-speed driving, 16 percent was alcohol driving and the rest was violation of traffic law and vehicle problems.

In 2010, 1,816 people were killed in road accidents, he said. The country lost 279 million U.S. dollars from the accidents last year.