PRIME Minister Hun Sen called on the police and military to set an example for the Cambodian people and respect the Traffic Law in a speech at a Build Bright University ceremony Wednesday.

The police implementing the new law, he said, needed to wear helmets and have mirrors on their motorbikes.

"Now, we have started the implementation [of the traffic law]. If you don't have a helmet and mirrors, your motorbikes will be confiscated."

The prime minister called the traffic situation in Cambodia "horrible" and urged everyone to follow the law and reduce accidents, even if there are no police around.

Uk Kimlek, the deputy director general of the National Police, admitted Wednesday that many police on motorbikes do not wear helmets or have mirrors but said that police will improve after Hun Sen's speech.

In the last four days, police temporarily confiscated about 20,000 motorbikes from drivers without helmets or mirrors. The police release motorbikes after drivers show proof they had purchased them, Uk Kimlek said.