Road traffic police and specialists from relevant institutions began piloting the implementation of fines and driving license point deductions on August 25. POLICE
Road traffic police and specialists from relevant institutions began piloting the implementation of fines and driving licence point deductions on August 25. The scheme uses an electronic system to record motorists who violate road traffic laws. The pilot was put into effect on National Road 4.
The National Police said that pilot was led by Kao Phat, traffic office chief under Kampong Speu provincial police, along with officials from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. They were joined by officers from Phnom Sruoch district police and local police.
The trial phase for enforcing fine, driving scores and tabulating deductions will kick off on October 1.
The transport ministry has developed an app which will record all information related to traffic offences by drivers in the country. It is part of a plan to establish a scoring system for each driver where each recorded offence deducts points from a driver’s score to determine the imposition of penalties, including the suspension of their driving licence for a period of six months to one year.
The scheme is aimed at reducing road accidents in Cambodia, which are currently unacceptably high.
The ministry implemented the pilot scheme on September 1, with the full programme set to go live on January 1 next year. The demerit point reductions will be made through a smartphone app, which will allow officers to automatically deduct scores and update the driver’s licence department and the drivers themselves.
According to the ministries of transport and interior, every clean licence will have 12 points and that offences will incur penalties from one to six points. One point will be deducted from drivers who fail to wear a seatbelt or helmet, use high beam headlights on oncoming traffic, cross the centre line in a non-passing section of road or exceed the speed limit by up to 19kph. The drivers of overloaded vehicles and those without lights at night time will also be penalised one point.
Exceeding the speed limit by 50kph or more, driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.40mg per litre of breath or from 0.80mg per litre of blood or under the influence of drugs would incur a penalty of six points. Fleeing an accident, using fake license plates or vehicle ID cards or injuring another road user would also result in the loss of six points.
Those who repeatedly use expired or invalid drivers’ licences and those who refuse to take a drug or alcohol test would likewise be docked six points.
When a driver has lost all 12 of their points, they shall be required to re-sit their driving test, no earlier than six months after the loss. Drivers who cause accidents which result in serious injuries or deaths will be banned from driving for five years.
