The government has announced several amendments to the troubled Traffic Law which, according to National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith, will be fully enforced starting March 15.

Speaking at a press conference at the Ministry of Interior yesterday, Chantharith said that while law enforcement had begun enforcing visible violations on January 1, such as not wearing a helmet, enforcement will soon be extended.

“We have not yet checked documents regarding driving licences, vehicle technical inspections . . . but from March 15, the traffic police will check all these documents . . . We will fully implement the Traffic Law,” he said, adding, however, that Interior Minister Sar Kheng has requested that prison sentences for licence violations be reduced from six months to one day.

Chantharith went on to say that Kheng has pushed ministries to step up their efforts to educate people about the law, adding that citizens can call ministries to ask questions.

As part of this public information push, Chantharith said Kheng has called on the Ministry of Telecommunications to invite phone companies to send out informational text messages.