Fatalities on Cambodia’s roadways increased 3.5 per cent in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2013, an official said yesterday.

Road accidents as a whole rose nearly 10 per cent.

“The main causes for the accidents were speeding drivers, carelessness, alcohol and a lack of respect for traffic laws,” said Preap Chanvibol, director of the land transport department at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

Chanvibol said that from January through March, traffic accidents jumped to 1,273 cases from 1,159 in the same 2013 period. Road fatalities rose from 556 last year to 576 during the same period this year.

A final discussion regarding new traffic legislation, which would, among other changes, raise fines for violations and require passengers on motorbikes to wear helmets, is slated to take place at the Ministry of Justice today, Chanvibol said.

“Then we will send it for discussion between [relevant] ministries, and after that to the Council of Ministers and on to the National Assembly.”