The death toll on Cambodia’s roads this year is up 5 per cent from all of 2014, according to government figures released yesterday.

Traffic accidents had claimed 2,265 lives through early yesterday, 117 more than last year, deputy National Police chief Kirth Chantharith said at a capital press conference, although the number of people injured fell by 7 per cent compared to 2014.

The increase in fatalities was partly explained by a few crashes involving large numbers of people, according to deputy director of the Interior Ministry’s department of order Dy Long.

“Many people lost their lives in single incidents because of speeding, such as a crash between a bus and a truck carrying workers in Svay Rieng province,” he said referencing a May incident that killed 19. “Speed remains the biggest factor, so we will strengthen the law in the whole country.”

Interior Minister Sar Kheng added that traffic police must be bold enough to pull over even high-ranking government officials. “If a minister violates the law and traffic police officials fine him, I will promote them to the next rank,” he said.