Crossing Cambodia

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Vrom Vietnam

By just skimming some resources in Vietnam it is surprising what you could find. Here from Vietnam News:
Ha Noi strive to ensure improved traffic safety

Ha Noi meaning Vietnamese authorities. Striving to cope with increasing traffic and traffic associated problems, the local authorities in both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh city have drawn up long term plans to decrease the relative numbers of accidents and casualties. Partly this is ensured by road reconstruction, partly by education but there is also a prominent role for law enforcement.

The same article goes on to describe why accidents happen:

Lack of awareness and poor knowledge of traffic rules together with underdeveloped infrastructure, relaxed law enforcement and lack of public awareness campaigns were to blame for traffic accidents in Viet Nam.
The question is raised why such analysis does not take place in Cambodia? Surely speeding and drinking are not only to blame? Another interesting aspect is the drop in the number of reported traffic related deaths in HCM city. This seems to be a pattern as the same seems to be occurring in Phnom Penh. Here it surely not related to any obvious measure instigated. Crossing Cambodia's own theory is that as streets get clogged, speeds drop, which not necessarily means less accidents but rather that accidents are less dramatic. Witness Vientiane, Lao PDR where speeding and zipping around are pretty normal (still) but accidents result often in deaths.

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