Nearly 90 overloaded trucks were stopped and collectively fined about $38,000 by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport in October – a significant decrease from the average of the previous five months.

According to a report released on Friday by the ministry, inspection stations across the country stopped a total of 89 overloaded trucks in October – a 16 percent decrease from an average of 106 overloaded trucks per month from May to September – and collected $38,427 of fines – a 38 percent drop from an average of $62,000 per month in the same period.

The decrease, said ministry spokesman Vasim Sorya, can be attributed to the establishment of a task force last month to crack down on overloaded trucks.

“We [now] have good cooperation with the provincial police and authorities, who are working harder to enforce [the law],” he said. “The truck owners are cooperating with us, too.”

According to separate posts on the ministry’s Facebook page, the task force had seized four overloaded trucks in Kampong Thom, three in Ratanakkiri and four in Battambang in the past month.