Of the more than 1.5 million lorries inspected so far this year, a total of 415,917 were found to be overloaded. Public Works Ministry
Police inspected more than 1.5 million lorries so far this year to enforce weight restrictions, preserve roads, and reduce traffic accidents.
A total of 415,917, or about one third of them, were found to be overloaded.
The owners of the overloaded lorries were made to sign contracts agreeing to stop overloading their lorries, a report from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport said.
At an October 5 meeting to deal with such vehicles, the ministry’s secretary of state Seng Chhuon encouraged all officials to come up with a strategy to get overloaded vehicles off the roads.
He said the objectives that need to be carried out include improvements at some weigh stations. “I have instructed weigh station officials to work effectively and cooperate with relevant partners,” he said.
The Department of Public Works and Transport head in Battambang province, Chan Sambo, said on Tuesday that the ministry’s mobile working group cooperated with the department and local authorities to inspect vehicles on National Road 57, where 11 overloaded lorries were impounded.
He said his group had inspected 51 vehicles carrying cement, stone, sand, iron and other goods and impounded the 11 of them for carrying goods weighing between seven and 19 tonnes.
“I call on all companies, enterprises and owners of transport lorries to adhere to mandatory limits to preserve national roads and reduce traffic accidents,” Sambo said.
AIP Foundation country director Kim Pagn supported the move. But he urged the ministry to call company representatives to a meeting to resolve the problem and produce recommendations on transporting goods.
“Overloaded lorries carry the most risk in causing traffic accidents involving other road users. If we just instruct a company, it won’t follow. We must revoke the licenses of the transport companies as a warning to others,” he said.
Pagn said police should also seize trucks so companies and drivers will learn a lesson.
“They [the drivers] will be afraid that the law is being enforced and they will no longer commit the offence,” he said.
