The number of traffic accidents during the three-day peak of this year’s Pchum Ben holiday dropped by nearly a quarter compared to last year, though the number of fatalities remained the same, according to official figures released yesterday by the Ministry of Interior.

Hin Yan, director of the ministry’s public order department, said there were 75 traffic accidents between Monday and Wednesday. Last year, there were 99 accidents during the same three-day period.

The number of people injured in traffic accidents also fell substantially, from 239 last year to 166 this year: a decrease of about 30 per cent. The death toll, however, remained unchanged at 25.

About one-third of the accidents were caused by speeding, roughly one-quarter were due to drunk drivers and about 12 per cent were caused by drivers attempting to pass other vehicles, Hin Yan said.

He attributed the drop in accidents to several factors, including improved awareness of traffic safety, stricter enforcement of traffic laws and more careful and respectful drivers.

The drop in traffic accidents nationally skipped Kampong Cham province, where the number tripled compared to the same period last year to 12, according to the provincial traffic office police chief Long Mengse.