Cambodia stakeholders have gathered for a National Road Safety Consultation Workshop to shape the country’s National Plan for the Decade to 2030, and iRAP was pleased to provide input.

The Ministries of Interior and Public Works and Transport jointly organised the hybrid consultation workshop on 22-23 June, led by the General Secretariat of the National Committee for Road Safety of the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Public Works and Transport with the support from Prudential (Cambodia) Life Assurance PLC.

Some 130 road safety officials and representatives from the two ministries and their line departments from 25 capital and provinces, Prudential Cambodia and International Business Chamber of Cambodia (IBC) and other road safety agencies attended the discussion at the transport ministry in Phnom Penh.

The Workshop presented and shared results, challenges and lessons learned from the 1st National Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 and discussed and gathered input from relevant stakeholders on the draft version of the 2nd National Plan for the Decade 2021-2030.

The programme included presentations on all 6 road safety pillars focussed to strengthen road safety management and leadership, laws and regulations, education and awareness, safe road infrastructure, effective first aid and emergency services, and vehicle safety management.

Presentations by the local Ministries and agencies were supported by presentations from iRAP, Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS), International Safety Foundation, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Total and the International Business Chamber of Cambodia.

iRAP Global Programme Director Greg Smith joined virtually to share international best practice tools for the strengthening of safe road infrastructure.

According to the Cambodia News Service, Her Excellency Ms Min Manavy, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport and Secretary General of National Road Safety Committee who chaired the opening of the workshop noted the increase of road accidents in the first three months of 2022 as Cambodia reopened the country and eased travel restrictions.

Speeding, drunk-driving, driving without a helmet, driving without a seat belt and illegal overtaking were the main causes of most deaths and injuries of the incidents, she underlined.

She thanked the supporters of the workshop and participants and was positive that the discussion will contribute to the development of an effective 10-year road safety plan.

According to records of the General Commissariat of the National Police in 2021, there were 2,670 accidents, resulting in 1,497 deaths and 3,615 injuries — of them 2,246 were serious, and most of the deaths took place in Phnom Penh (245), Kandal (141) and Kampong Cham (96).

Partner-led iRAP activity has already assessed the safety of 558km of roads and designs, and 1 school. 36 people have benefited from iRAP global/on-line training, along with 35 people trained in events delivered locally.

Cambodia joined the International Transport Forum (ITF) as the organisation’s 64th member country on 19 May during the ITF Summit in Leipzig, Germany.

The country was admitted in the presence of State Secretary Thun Yuthea Leng of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport of Cambodia.

In making the presentation, ITF Secretary-General Young Tae Kim said: “The ITF welcomes Cambodia with open arms as a new member. Located at the heart of Southeast Asia, Cambodia is part of a rapidly developing region in which the demand for the transport of people and goods is growing. This dynamic brings with it both great opportunities and important challenges. The ITF stands ready to support Cambodia in further enhancing its transport policies to meet the needs of its people and economy. The ITF looks forward to hearing about Cambodia’s transport experiences, so as to allow other member countries to learn from them.”

According to iRAP’s Vaccines for Roads Big Data Tool, achieving UN Targets 3 and 4 for greater than 75% of travel on 3-star or better roads for all road users in the country by 2030 stands to save an estimated 208,716 lives over the 20-year life of road treatments with an economic benefit of USD$5.5 billion – $6 for every $1 spent.

Article images source: iRAP