In the first four months, the driver’s licence demerit points system trial programme has been running, more than 20,000 licences have had points deducted for violating traffic laws.

A trial run for the system was launched in September wherein every Cambodian driver’s licence is tracked in a database and any drivers who violate traffic laws and are cited for it have points deducted from their licence. Too many point deductions can result in the suspension or revocation of a licence and potentially other penalties such as fines.

The system will officially be enforced nationwide from January 2023, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport.

The ministry said that this system is being introduced to increase the effectiveness of road traffic law enforcement and compliance in order to increase public safety and reduce accidents that result in death or injury.

“On September 1, 2022, the driver’s licence demerit points system was put into practice at some particular locations in a trial phase. So far, it has been four months and a total of 23,015 drivers’ licences have had points deducted,” the ministry said in a December 31 notice.

The ministry called on the public to respect road traffic laws and demonstrate consideration for each other on the Kingdom’s roads to ensure everyone’s safety.