Chasing Cars, January 20 2011

Happy New Year. Just a couple more entries to go and I'll be drawing the curtains on this blog.

• Flights are set to take off between Cambodia and Burma, but not from Phnom Penh, according to an article in this weeks Phnom Penh Post. There's a huge market, that's for sure:

  'Cambodia received 2,614 visitors in 2010 who claimed Myanmar as their country of residence, according to Ministry of Tourism statistics'.

  Seeing how much effort is needed to get flights to countries even closeby it's a bit strange that

  'Officials also requested that Russia and Japan begin regular direct flights to the Kingdom during the ongoing ASEAN Tourism Forum in Phnom Penh.“We are hopeful that if we have direct flights with Russia and Japan, tourists will increasingly come to our country,” said Thong Khon'.

• More air. Two new airlines approved in Cambodia (PPP, 28 Dec. 2010). But only for domestic destinations, which means between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. That's what the market wants?

• Victims of a plane crash (PPP, Jan 16 2011) are waiting for insurance pay-out for 3,5 years now, how much longer? Avoid using Cambodian airline(s)? Btw, it was a domestic flight ....
  

• The new Siem Reap airport will be constructed whatever anybody else thinks (PPP, 7 December 2010).

  'A government official has claimed work on a new US$1 billion Siem Reap airport is set to begin next year, after the project was approved by Prime Minister Hun Sen'.

  Green light by the government.

• Ung Meng Hong and Kasem Choocharukul have tried to revive the idea of a Phnom Penh bus system (Phnom Penh Post, 18-01-11). Apparently 72% of the respondents might just switch if the prices would be less than nothing. The report also noted that it would be required to see if there is economic viability...
  One problem is that a bus system will help solve traffic conditions, but if traffic conditions require public transport then it is often too late to introduce bus service, nobody is gonna pay for sitting in a bus in a traffic jam.

• Another bus station in the planning. Currently there is none and buses just drop you off wherever they feel like. A senator thinks that a bus station is just what the doctor ordered. The bus station will be 20 km from Phnom Penh. The Phnom Penh Post (13 Dec. 2010) adds:

  'Ly Yong Phat [senator] has been involved in contentious land disputes in Oddar Meanchey and Kampong Speu provinces with villagers who claim to have been displaced by his development projects'.

  Bus companies are already well versed with the consequences.

  'Sok Chan Mony, general manager of the Rith Mony bus company, said the terminal would ease congestion in the city, though he also said that both passengers and transporters would see rising costs if all companies are forced to relocate'.

  The money going where?

• The roadsafetyawareness blog gives us another viral video. In it ,two ladies are asked to pull over, but go ballistic towards the police for the notion that they might just have done something wrong.

• Road rage even in Sihanoukville, with trucks (PPP, Jan 10, 2011).

  'Prum Davuth, 28, and Plong Sokhen, 26, were arrested after they were accused of threatening to run over a number of traffic officers with their truck in Sihanoukville town’s commune 3, said Prum Pov, chief of the provincial traffic police. “We released both of them after they made apologies for their mistake,” he said'.

  End of story.

• The curious world of Cambodia. Sihanoukville, the world's most expensive place for taking a tuk-tuk, is seeing a response. Hotels are now providing transportation to their guests, so they don't fall prey to the tuk-tukers. Makes sure they get to their hotel, and to the beach. But that's not fair cry the tuk-tukkers. And protest. Expat Advisory Service has no less than 42 posts on the issue. In general, the best advice is to stay away of the place altogether. It's a dump. Beach, just head to one of the islands. And why else come to Sihanoukville?

• Over the holidays just another accident to add to the list. Five dead were reported, high official and his family who were overtaking on a blind corner ... Anyway over the holidays the was a controversy in Thailand when a young lady managed to rear end a van which then lost I think 8 passengers who tumbled over the edge of the 30m high road. She was 16. And after the accident needed to text. In Phnom Penh, that's not controversial at all:

  'Koeun Sotharaneth, the 16-year-old son of a general in the National Police, has been charged with manslaughter after he killed three people in a car accident in Kandal province on Friday night'.

  Since (21 Dec. 2010, PPP) have not heard anything on the case. Personally I know two persons who were hit during the holidays while using their bicycles, a trend?

• Elsewhere the metered taxi's are not doing too bad a business (PPP, 9 Jan 2011). Though still not enough that you could hail a taxi, they are increasing in number and are not a bad alternative to tuk-tuks which are growing exponentially in the capital by the looks of it. The owners report slower than expected business but are making a profit.

• Road construction leads to electrical problems (PPP, 5 Jan 2011). Someone needs their wiring checked anyway. The company responsible for the damage, AZ Investment has a reputation for not paying up.

  'He [electricity company representative] did not comment on the extent of the damage, but said AZ has attempted to evade responsibility in the past'.

  Another case of not holding your breathe.

• The Phnom Penh Post (January 5, 2011) reports that there are really persons being apprehended for failing the breathalyzer. It also adds this police citation:

  '“At night time, if there is no presence of police, the respect of law is low,” he said'.

• Phnom Penh has witnessed a couple of new bridges which enable to move from one in-going traffic jam to another. But one needs to pay. That's fine (the roads are great), but elsewhere in the country one also needs to pay for

  '... toll along a road with numerous old bridges in Kandal province’s Sa’ang district'.

  Truck drivers incensed.

• Other bridges take more time. Already in the pipeline for ages, a groundbreaking ceremony will take place for the bridge needed to cross the Mekong between Saigon and Phnom Pen, according to todays Phnom Penh Post.

• Rent seeking. The old weapon of the corrupt. In Koh Kong province according to the Phnom Penh Post (3 Jan 2011), the eco-tourist site (Chipat?) was serviced by many smaller boats.

  'Men Sopheap, 39, a representative of 18 boat owners in Chiphat commune, said Moeng Sophea, a commune official, was set to introduce a tourist ferry service and that boatmen were informed that they would have to wind up their business this week, since their boats were “unsafe”'.

  It will only be for a few years. The site will either become a titanium mine or disappear under a hydropower lake. Progress?

• Congestion spreads to river? The Phnom Penh Post (11 jan, 2011) reports that a tourist boat sunk after hitting a sand barge. No word about how that could happen.

• Discussion topics. Are tuk-tuks safer? Khmer 440 has the answer, tuk-tuks are perceived as safer (but have their own issues) but better still take a taxi.

• For those of you wondering which street is where and whether house no. 24 is next to no. 22 or no. 543b, apparently street signs will return (Phnom Penh Post, Dec 27).

  'City officials have announced ambitious plans to reorganise the numbers of the capital’s buildings and install street signs that will be uniform in style across the city.
  ...
  He said the Chinese Chung Hong Company had been commissioned to manufacture the aluminum signs, but that businesses and homeowners in the capital would be required to pay US$4 each to cover the costs. The scheme received a mixed reaction from residents yesterday, with some expressing concern about the fee they would be required to pay'.

• Big plans not always materialize. A second flyover in Phnom Penh (PPP, 14 Jan 2011) will be downgraded, with somehow the width less than ideal. Another highlight: it will be 50m high. Mistake?

Chasing Cars, November 14, 2010

Going viral. Probably the most talked about traffic issue at the moment is an everyday occurrence on Cambodia's road. Car travels down the wrong side of the road, hits a moto, tries to evade police. The difference is that this time someone his uploaded it onto YouTube and everybody has been talking about, especially on Facebook.

• Deaths reported: three monks in one go, a professional boxer accidentally. Two girls by a soldier who was briefly arrested by police before letting him go because he had not intended to hit the girls.

• Then in Banteay Meanchey a dead cow was arrested / confiscated:

  'He [province's chief of traffic police] said the corpse was detained for two hours at the station, but the owner failed to appear and the owners of the cars decided not to wait any longer and negotiated to pay for the damage themselves. “They [ the aggrieved damaged car owners] took the dead cow with them,” he said. “I don’t know what they will do with that cow.”'

• China mending bridges? No, building new ones for Cambodia's railways (Phnom Penh Post). Other rail news. New reopened routes will lead to the costs going down for road transport.

• There's an upswing in tourism meaning more flights, none of the aforementioned promises (Hanoi, Manila, Jakarta), but more of the same. Also no flights to Sihanoukville. Which is quite pathetic. TCambodia's national airline (CAA) should be opening up routes to here, but is in a bind as the operator of the airline is none other than the Vietnamese government which has no interest at all in opening Sihanoukville up as it competes directly with Vietnam's own plans for making Phou Coc the beach destination of the neighbourhood. Talk about a neighbourhood bully.

  'Developers and real estate agents have again emphasised the need for regular flights to Sihanoukville airport, with one party calling it “possibly the single most critical issue affecting tourism” in Cambodia',

  is just one of the lines Phnom Penh Post uses to highlight the case. The final sentence in the article?

  'Mai Xuan Long, an official at CAA, declined to comment'.

  Stephen Finch's comment also focuses on the situation. He asks some poignant questions.

  'Why isn’t CAA supporting these newly emerging destinations, especially given that Cambodia’s new flag carrier is understood to be partly government-run? The surging prices on CAA’s route from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh amid nonexistent carrier competition is equally debilitating for Cambodian tourism. Whereas the new airline offered special promotion fares between Cambodia’s two biggest tourism destinations after launching in July last year, now a round trip for foreigners usually costs more than US$200 when airport tax is factored in. That route across the Kingdom must rank as one of the most expensive internal flights in the region per kilometre'.
  

• The government is planning more overhead bridges (Phnom Penh Post) despite current ones not fitting the bill.

  'is it me or are the road exits around the overpass at Chbar Ampeouv another classic piece of local planning ? It seems that if you're traveling south on Norodom and want to turn left across the Chbar Ampeouv bridge then you can only do this by turning right for a few hundred metres until you can execute an illegal u-turn around the concrete lane dividers ? And similarly if you're traveling north from Takmao and want to turn left onto the southern end of Monivong, it seems you now have to turn right to go across the newer Chbar Ampeouv bridge before turning round to come back over the old Chbar Ampeouv bridge'.

  More discussion on Khmer 440.
  

• Khmer 440 also mention that there is a radar gun in Sihanoukville working ...

Chasing Cars, Cambo stylo, 26 April 2010

Absolutely nothing seems to be going on, traffic wise in Cambodia. One would have expected a lament of the many deaths and injured during the past Khmer new year celebration but nada. Well not technically, I believe the Phnom Penh Post ran a smallish article on the drop of deaths in Phnom Penh, though if you were here during the holidays it's surprising that an accident took place at all, technically the town had turned into Ghost Town as the city had emptied.

The holidays have come and gone and everybody still needs to get into the groove somehow.

• A study so says the Phnom Penh Post. A calculation of the cost of accidents. No less than an annual cost of $248 million for 2009, a doubling since 2003. That seems a conservative estimate and considering the number of new traffickers (can I say this?) has risen three / four fold in the same time, it means that the costs are proportionally dropping, good news eh? Funny this estimating the cost. The administrative part cost $43 million, while deaths and injuries $73 million. Life is cheap? the police finally add that it's because the public are ignorant and fail to comply. What about the role of the police in this?

• Though we had been hoping for boats to be leaving from Kep for Phu Quoc asap. apparently someone has decided to throw a spanner in the works. The Japanese company has objected to the intended harbor being placed 5 km from the agreed on place (a year before!), according to the Phnom Penh Post:

  'Authorities instead proposed a port location in the forest area of Poun Mountain, 5 kilometres from the centre of the town in Damnak Chang Er district, a site the company official said was shallow and choked with seaweed'.

  The local government are (literally?) standing firm ...

• This morning I picked up the newest scam on the road Siem Reap to Bangkok involving bus breaking downs and extending waits so as to get other buses full. Good advertisement. Anyway, who wants to go to BKK?

• Bamboo trains are disappearing laments none other than the LA Times. Never understood why this would anyone would be passionate for this, it's about the same as wishing you could only get to Siem Reap by moto ...

• Last week a downpour providing relief by distress to road users as the streets went under. KI Media reports. Despite multi-million drainage system which was clogged up and blamed on the local rubbish collectors ...

• Sokha to open a second hotel in Sihanoukville. Newsworthy? Funny they have enough space to develop on at their first site, but to keep land in cambodia you have to build something to really claim it, preferably a wall. Anyways in the Phnom Penh Post article they mention that Cambodia Angkor Airways might start to fly from Siem Reap:
  

  'News of the hotel build follows reports, published in Cambodian press Thursday, that Cambodia Angkor Air (CAA) is to offer domestic charter flights to Sihanouk International Airport this year.
  The Post met with blank responses when it contacted officials to verify the claims Thursday.
  Mai Xuan Long, deputy director of CAA, said that he didn’t know exactly what was happening with the company’s flights to Sihanoukville International Airport.
  Kao Sivorn, Operation Director Department of Secretariat of State of Civil Aviation, said that so far he has not received proposals from CAA to start operations to the new airport.
  He added that the company does not have enough ability to begin regular flights to Sihanouk International Airport yet.
  He added: “If [CAA] begin operation there, it will boost the tourism sector for Sihanouk province, as the airport can link it to Siem Reap International Airport.”
  Tith Chantha, director of Sihanouk International Airport, said that he has not yet heard when CAA would begin flights to the airport.
  “I have not received any official letter from CAA,” he said'.

Chasing Cars, pre-Khmer New Year '10

Yesterdays Phnom Penh Post (April 5) has put up an article based on calculations by Handicap International Belgium about what the costs are to the the nation of poor driving (and consequent accidents).
VOA Khmer had already reported on this earlier. Both though delved in the press release by Road Safety Cambodia.
The press release mentions amongst others the relative numbers (deaths per 10,000 registered vehicles) are dropping which is partially blamed by more congestion which means lower speeds = less deaths. However they are still way above regional standards. Though no doubt putting a price tag on this is all part of the pressure the government package but the reality is that putting a price on tragedy doesn't mean that it will compile the government to take action. Tragedies happen. The odd part is that the cost to humans matches the cost to properties, surely that can't be correct.
Why did they they choose blood Friday for the presentation?

• Talking about safety, the Khmer 440 forum has a thread on the safety of Phnom Penh's streets. The mostly male crowd who inhabit this forum seem to be OK with safety issues though they mostly focus on muggings ...

• Sihanoukville airport back in the news:

  '[The airport operators] determined to convince airlines to start providing scheduled flights through Preah Sihanouk province’s fully operational airport ...' then the article harks back on the national flag carrier: 'SCA and the government want the new national carrier, Cambodia Angkor Air (CAA), to begin scheduled flights to Preah Sihanouk, but the CAA is apprehensive. Cambodia Angkor Airlines’ vice CEO Lim Kao told the Post Wednesday the carrier’s three planes are already burdened with their runs, at a time when tourism has slowed. He added that CAA is reluctant to open up a new flight path without knowing if there is sufficient demand'.

  If the CAA isn't willing to take a risk in promoting Sihanoukville as Asia's newest beach destination who will? Surely that's why you have designated a national carrier in the first place?

• Much in the same vein, a conference on ground handling in Asian airports concluded that liberalization of both handling and awarding flight rights are lagging...

• And then there is the Cambodia Daily. On March 27-28 ('Airline Industry set for Recovery as Prices mount') they mention how things are looking up for the aviation industry in Cambodia, but not for the consumers? Witness new routes an/or expended capacity (Siem Reap - Shanghai; Guangzhou - Phnom Penh; KL - Phnom Penh).
  They also mention that a comeback of Siem Reap Airways is in the final stages.
  One funny thing mentioned is that since CAA have started fares between SR and HCM have risen. Flights between HCM and PP are some of Asia's most overpriced, CAA is certainly not competing ....

• More boasts are sinking. Luckily the water levels are dropping drastically ...

• Talking about rivers and boats. The annual Mekong River Swim is off. In the Asialife April edition besides a lack of volunteers they also mention that due to the newly formed Boat 'Association' prices for renting a boat have become prohibitive ...

• Next up? Cars with tinted windows.
  

  'Police have begun a crackdown on cars with tinted windows, as ordered by Prime Minister Hun Sen in a meeting Friday at the Council of Ministers. Interior Ministry spokesman Khieu Sopheak said Monday that police were taking a hard line with owners of cars with tinted windows, forcing them to remove the window tinting “to ensure security and order for the Cambodian people”.“Police will eliminate cars with tinted windows from the road,” Khieu Sopheak said, ...'.

  More on Khmer 440. Probably it's Khmer New Year soon ...

• Odd news. A general takes revenge on an ice seller for damaging his .... car. According to his own sense of justice, a neck shot was required, the ice seller still lives. Is this odd? No the odd thing is that the general will be prosecuted, at least that's what they are saying ...

• Then there is mob rule. Reported on in various media, no less than 400 'residents' killed two motorbike robbers and left another for dead (CD reports: 'regained consciousness just before his body was to be cremated'!) after intervening with police. Gruesome footage with Khmer media.

• More odd news.

  'A Cambodian taxi driver was arrested after he ramped up an inter-city fare, then threatened to kill his passengers by driving into a lake unless they paid, local media reported Monday. The driver had initially agreed to take 20 passengers to the eastern province of Prey Veng for 2 dollars a head, the Phnom Penh Post newspaper said. However, halfway there, he stopped the taxi and announced the fare had increased to 5 dollars each. When the passengers refused to hand over the extra money and began arguing with the driver, he threatened to drown them by driving into a nearby lake. A passenger then called the police who arrested the driver. Cambodia lacks public transport, and privately operated minibus taxis, which are often overcrowded, are a common way to travel around the country'.

  Source according to KI Media is dpa, though the PPP also runs this story ....

• Info on a new bus service to Pakse. Elsewhere there's a thread on Tripadvisor.

Chasing Cars, mid March 2010

During the past month steps have been announced to get the general public to comply to a couple of paragraphs of the traffic law as well as suggestions being made to expand the law. Helmet fines would rise 6-fold.

'The fine has been set too low, which means drivers have not stopped their bad habits. They seem to look down on the traffic law,” he [Him Yan, director of the Department of Public Order at the Interior Ministry] said'.

The idea actually comes from Handicap International. The article also suggests that higher fines will lead to more unreasonable police.
Note also in this article the photo with caption implying the offender is paying for a mirror offense. That despite the photo showing that the offender does have a mirror. An editorial mistake?

However some problems are overlooked. Poor compliance is due to poor law implementation. Go anywhere outside the capital and you'll soon see compliance to the law drops to single figures, even police don't care. Nor is there any law enforcement once the sun drops, even in Phnom Penh.

Additionally, much is made of visible law enforcement. Probably one of the biggest dangers is running red lights about which nothing is done ...

The Cambodia Mirror argues the same point of poor law enforcement in Cambodia in general. It uses the recent license plate drama as reference.

Anyway the police are positive:

'.... 10,859 motorbike drivers had been stopped during the first two weeks of February because they lacked mirrors or helmets'.

That said Khmer 440 forum once more adds some real life detail. A forum poster describes how to nail a culprit. Then follows more experiences with law enforcement.

BTW:

'officials have delayed a decision on a long list of proposed amendments to the Kingdom’s traffic laws'.

Officials need more time ...

• In a never ending list for regulating everything, the government would like suits for moto drivers in Phnom Penh. Not a three piece though. '

  “We want to give safety to the tourists and make the city look good,” Chreang Sophan said, in explanation of the motivation for creating the uniform'.

  Siem Reap already has experience with $10 suits:

  ' ... uniforms had identification numbers on them, and that no moto or tuk-tuk driver had committed crimes against passengers since the uniforms were introduced [in 2002]'.

  That's no reported crimes ...

• The national airline buys a new aircraft, it's first. No price is mentioned nor who the seller is. Hence, CC believes that the price is too expensive and that the seller is closely involved. Funny though as CC would like to check some recent info, the airlines site is in error (mid day March 11, 2010).

• KI Media has a link to a strange article. Apparently a Korean company has been awarded a contract to

  'design and supervise the improvement of two national highways and one local road and the construction of a detour'.

  The former shouldn't be too hard.

• Construction of the road to Pailin is not going according to plan. A Chinese company somehow isn't coughing up the money required according to a Phnom Penh Post article.

• Stan is writing again on Kampot. This time he blames paving for flooding after rains. Though the authorities blame clogged drains. Whatever, it's probably due to the local government.

• How many times can you make the news with the same project? A signing ceremony was held in March 2010 for a project begun in 2007! A project to improve Cambodia's railways, but that we knew already.
  Bigger news though is that something is really happening. I've seen new sleepers in Takeo and disappearing rails between Takeo and Kampot.

Kep station

• Possible real news on the rail front for Cambodia comes from China via SMH ( 10-03-10). They know somehow that

  'A third network [of high spped trains] would extend south through Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia'.

  Is Cambodia missing the train?

• Phnom Penh's tourism boats are another recently regulated category. The Association of Phnom Penh Water Tourist Transport (essentially a government organisation) believes in order, not in competition. This contradicted by the Phnom Penh's port director. The Ministry now also wants the boats to be licensed (how much will that cost? All extra costs will be charged to the users ...).
  Anyway a few days later 5 members of the association were quitting. There complaint, surprise, surprise:

  'business went down'.

  The associations reply? Clear off!
  Now the government will be stepping in or so says the Phnom Penh Post (4 March 2010).

• A spike in car registration? Would the Phnom Penh Post have expected a decrease? Now only 1.13 million vehicles were registered.
  

Finally, we all know how whacky Cambodia's transportation system is. A photography book by Conor Wall and Hans Kemp gives examples of moto's and their freight. The issuing is accompanied by an exhibition in the FCC.

More examples of whacky moto's are available from Life in Cambodia.

Chasing Cars, mid-Feb 10

Ferry cross the Mekong. Phnom Penh in the background.

After a longer hiatus waiting for inspiration, a run of the mill entry. Or so it would seem.

• How the government works (or not). PM calls minister 'gang minister' Why?

  '... the senior official changed the number of National Road 67 to 66, creating cartographic confusion.
  ...
  I beg you, stop changing the road numbers,” Hun Sen said, adding that the minister was behaving like a gangster by changing numbers without consulting the proper authorities. “I announce today to cancel this and keep 67 as its number,” Hun Sen [Cambo PM] said'.

• More on the government machine. PM calls for action. Province promises. Sets date. Finds out they are too busy. Postpones and starts just in time for the Chinese New Year when Crossing Cambodia believes there are neither police nor trucks driving around to apprehend. That's the easy part, but the main part is to apprehend trucks carrying too much. So how they do it?

  'Officials have not identified a specific weight limit for trucks, saying instead that individual police officers would be tasked with determining which ones were overloaded and could potentially damage roads'.

  So arbitrarily imposing non specific limits means ....

• What about pedestrians? They need clear paths, preferably shaded. In Kampot the one means none of the other, i.e. they cut down the trees to remove the obstacles. Stan writes a letter to the editor of the Phnom Penh Post:

  'While I support the improvements to the sidewalks on the business side of Kampot River Road for safety and aesthetics, I believe authorities should go to great lengths to save every tree possible.
  The shade and beauty they provide are far more important than the slight obstacle to walking they might cause.
  Furthermore, it’s ironic that they would put so much effort into making the walk along the riverfront safe at the same time as they are widening streets in another part of town adjacent to the market and nearly eliminating sidewalks in the process; there will be no possibility of avoiding walking in traffic there. It’s not just tourists who deserve safe places to walk. The streets in question are now far wider than traffic flows would ever warrant for a small town, and cost a lot more than necessary.
  One was already paved and functional. Meanwhile, River Road north of the new bridge, the road to my house, is a very rough dirt track with immense holes in it and desperately needs improvement. Even just grading would be an important benefit to users. The authorities have their priorities askew. There needs to be a way to solicit input before such projects are undertaken'.

• And more government. Build an airport and the passengers will come. But that would be a success and success needs a celebration, so we postpone the inauguration until then, meaning that an airport is built but not opened. Understood? Even weirder is this:
  

  'It is hoped that new national carrier Cambodia Angkor Air will run the first flights at the new airport, said Tith Chantha, adding that he would like SIA to become Cambodia’s primary international airport'.

  So even the government can not force it's own airline to behave it self and do as it's told?
  

• Well, the government wants to approve a monopoly for a single Toyota dealer. But this is what Toyota want, so as to better control their produce and ease of calling back ... So why the fuss?

• More monopoly business. Find an idea (cutting out 'anarchy') and get it done. And the money will flow freely:

  'A group of boat owners is preparing to lodge a complaint against a new association that was created to streamline the booking of trips on the Tonle Sap, accusing it of cutting off direct access to customers and charging unnecessarily high fees'.

  Let the passengers pay for ..., well for nothing.

• Meanwhile in an unassumingly unrelated incident an overcrowded boat sinks and kills seven. Now shouldn't anything be done about that? The Ministry of Water Resources washes it's hands off the case:

  'He [MoWR spokesperson] said that the ministry would resume a public-awareness campaign about water safety and urged people to follow the advice given.
  “The ministry often used to inform people and publicise warnings for all boat drivers along the Mekong River and the sea to be equipped with life vests to protect their lives from disasters, but people have ignored these warnings,” he said'.

  Warnings and implementing the law.
  

• More than 14,000 were fined for not wearing a helmet in January according to official sources. That must have resulted in quite a windfall. And then there's the unofficial fines ..., so no doubt the traffic police have got something to celebrate.

  'But road safety advocates say the effectiveness of the law has been hindered by spotty enforcement, a problem that persists in part because Traffic Police rarely work at night.
  ...
  “Ninety percent of people use helmets during the day, but only around 40 percent wear helmets at night,” Him Yan [director of the ministry’s Department of Public Order!] said. “People are afraid that police will fine them, but they don’t wear them at night because Traffic Police do not work then.”'

• Chinese New Year means more accidents, so it seems. The solution:

  '“I have informed all Traffic Police in the different provinces to reinforce the law during Chinese New Year because many people leave the city to travel to the provinces,” he [director of the Ministry’s Department of Public Order!] said'.

  But now the Chinese New Year has passed (Phnom Penh Post, 18 Feb 2010) the police are celebrating:

  'the number of people who died on the road over the period matched last year’s figure, the overall number of accidents saw a decline'.

  Funny though, that the first article refers to HIB statistics which mention five times as many deaths as the police. So will the after Chinese New Year figures also be adjusted?

• Flights increase between PPN and SRP from 4 to 5 daily.

• Finally let's end with an article on how the government works. There's a law. But who cares? The opposition do. Cars with military license are not allowed.

  'He [MoD spokesperson] added that opposition lawmakers were not objecting to the use of military or police number plates by those entitled to apply for them and suggested that legitimate plate holders should paint their vehicles in military colours to help people determine which licences were legal and which ones were not.
  Chhum Socheat [opposition spokesperson] said that the 2007 law does include such a provision but that it was rarely implemented or enforced. “It is not a problem if legitimate plate owners do not spray [their vehicles] with military colours,” he said'.

  Despite the MoD defense, the Cambodia Mirror adds:

  '“Though there is such a claim from the Ministry of Defense, many citizens said that many cars of powerful officials are parked illegally and they do not obey the traffic law.”'

Chasing Cars, October 15 2009

Not much to mention. Seems nothing worthwhile is happening maybe it's just me getting jaded. Oh yeah I could celebrate this being four years of blogging, having nearly 10,000 visitors or this being the 376th posting. But I won't.

• My only competitor in this blogging world, the Road Safety Awareness blog, increasingly focus on reporting accident reports and pics from Khmer language newspapers. That might be a good lifelong strategy, no shortage of those. I, for one are going to call it quits after 5 years and then wait for history to catch up with the uniqueness of this blog ...

• Road repairs in action in Siem Reap reported by Cambodia Calling. Since the great flood of the town the roadworks would have been futile anyway. Why is her site also not coming with new blog entries?

• The Cambodian skies are abuzz with confusing static. Story goes as follows: SRA, daughter comapny of BKK Air flies the only national route. Loses license temporarily last year, BKK Air takes over. CAA created, owned by the gov., starts flying, making lots of loses. BKK Air told to take a hike. Announces return of SRA, but gov. has doubts. To be continued.

• As well as the opening of already finished airport.

  'State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) Secretary of State Mao Havannal said Tuesday that long-awaited upgrades to the coastal resort’s sole airport had been completed by Societe Concessionnaire des Aeroports (SCA), which also operates airports in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. “I went to check all the technical equipment last Friday,” he said. “Everything is in place and complies with international standards.”'

  So if something goes wrong, we know to blame!

• Toll roads exist.

  'Local representative Van Savy said that seven illegal checkpoints were operating along the 15 kilometres of road passing through the district. “Each checkpoint will demand five or six thousand riels from anyone transporting firewood or charcoal,” he said, adding that the “tolls” were especially tough on the area’s mostly poor residents.
  ...
  These men aren’t confiscating illegal goods or stopping crimes'.

  Is deforesting the forests not a crime?

• Above report refuted!

  'District Deputy Governor Ham Sam Ang dismissed residents’ claims, saying rumours of illegal checkpoints were baseless. “I went to a place last week that supposedly had illegal checkpoints, but I didn’t see anything,” he said'.

  But the question was whether he driving a moto packed with charcoal?

• 'Workers' [whose not a worker?] in Kampot have the solution to police checks.

  'Phlang Phearin, the Kampot provincial police chief, said Tuesday that a fight broke out when the two traffic police stopped a truck carrying Chinese workers from the Kamchay hydropower dam in the province’s Teuk Chhou district. After phoning more workers, the police were beaten up and the suspects fled, he said.
  ...
  Shu Jiang, Sinohydro’s deputy managing director, admitted workers from his company had been involved in the incident but said there was probably more to the story. “My workers attacked the policemen, but there was some reason, I think,” he said. “I don’t know – maybe the police asked for money, and the workers didn’t want to give it.”

• Though it's well known that you now need a helmet, mirrors and wear a seatbelt, did you know that drunk driving and speeding is also being cracked down on?

  'In Phnom Penh alone, between August and October, 1,172 drivers were caught speeding, and 682 were caught driving under the influence of alcohol, official data show'.

  Between August and October means September? But aside from that how on earth has this taken place without anybody experiencing this?

• Lots of news on the capsizing of a 'ferry', though in actuality what's meant is a larger boat used for cross-river transport. Seventeen died. Sit.:

  'crammed onto the 8-metre-long boat.
  ...
  Roughly 30 passengers were thought to be on the ferry, which officials said was made to carry 20 people, when it sank in heavy rain Saturday night after those on board panicked.
  ...
  Blame for the ferry disaster has been liberally thrown around. An employee of the boat owner who survived the sinking previously said that passengers insisted on cramming onto the 8-metre-long vessel Saturday evening, even though it was clearly overloaded. Cambodian ferry operators had previously been ordered to equip their vessels with safety equipment, such as life vests, said Ung Chun Huor, director general in the Transportation Department at the Ministry of Public Works. Implementation, however, is another matter'.

  So is doing your work.

• Let's focus on the poor forum moderator of Expat Advisory Services. He makes a tirade about poor parking. Though he virtually could have mentioned any successful bizniz in town, instead he decided to take on just one or two. Unfortunately they are verbally able to defend themseleves and he now finds himself in a pickle.
  

  'Bloody Hell'

  He mentions two schools, picks on one, because his daughter goes to the other.

• Subtitle to the photo below (original from AFP):

  'A fleet of cyclo drivers transport Buddhist paraphernalia, somewhat precariously, for sale at a market in Phnom Penh on Wednesday'.

  Is this description not condescending to Budhist religion?

• And for something different. All theme press guys complaining about us ripping off their rags. Vuthasurf finds his blog entry on the front page with no reference, let alone some compo. Then totally unrelated he has blog entries on how hard it is to make money from blogs in Cambodia .. Now why didn't he shake the tree first?

Chasing Cars. What? It's August already?

Skipped a months worth of posting so you might expect a lot to have happened in the meantime, which in a sense is true, though it's not so obvious. So let's get started:

In the past month the local strongman has been using his power to pressure all those with a differing view. However despite announcing that's he's had enough of the traffic anarchy, controlling the population as a whole is a entirely different thing. The PM thought confiscating all and sundry (i.e. those without side mirrors or moto's without helmet clad drivers) will cower the populace into submission. But alas as always, the enforcers all work once a week and by now everyone is back to the ago-old Cambodian custom of driving hither and nither.

Another important occurence is that the country has it's own airline, called Cambodiaangkorair (CAA for short) which sort of covers the subject. However the Cambodian government owns only half of the part that makes the profit. Problem though is that it's totally controlled by Vietnamese, their aircraft, their crews, so Crossing Cambodia doubts whether it will make a profit. Better to keep the fees high than produce a profit which needs to be shared. Wonder if the bright guys thought of that before?
The CAA route map though looks a bit weak, most flights are between Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, how is that to serve the country by generating more passengers? The connecting flights section is actually a copy of Vietnam Airlines flights from Hanoi, to which the new carrier does not fly.
If the Cambodians are really serious they should ask Air Asia or the likes to open up routes to the northeast. With good opportunities in place to Singapore, Malaysia and Bangkok, creating more options to Hanoi (direct flight?), Hong Kong, Taiwan as well as seeking new sources of tourists from South / East China and central Vietnam is what's required. More info, here, here and here.

Subjects with less coverage / importance:

• Elsewhere tuk-tuks are coming into the spotlight for law enforcement apparently. There are roads and other roads where only tuk-tuks may not drive. Why?

  'They say we are anarchic and cause disorder in the city'.

  If that's the scale to measure, then everyone can start packing! And are they safe?

  'But the presence of tuk-tuks on the roads also adds to the chaos of traffic in Phnom Penh. Their large size makes them difficult to navigate, and some are obviously not built with safety in mind - such as those with very thin metal bars to support their back seats, which can be dangerous for larger passengers. Some tuk-tuks are powered by very weak and old motorbikes that cannot effectively transport heavy passengers and goods, leading to awkward turns that obstruct traffic.

  'Letter to the editor. Nice people?
  

  'Too many of the drivers aggressively hassle expats and tourists alike, not only with entreaties to take one to the Killing Fields, but also trying to push drugs and prostitution. Many also deliberately obstruct junctions, making it very difficult for pedestrians to make headway'.

  Letter to the editor.

• Fuel prices are also under investigation ('to reconsider price hike', please).

• Airport in Sihanoukville to open? Not yet, as Nicolas Sarkozy wants to do it himself, seeing that it was him who made the thing.... ,not. He's expected to arrive in November. No new flights either ...

• Despite the new airlines, Siem Reap Airways still remains blacklisted.

• All the law enforcing, has not resulted in less deaths. Cambodian logic:

  'Even though we have breath analysis machines, the number of accidents still increases'.

• Roads from China? Meant is money from China, roads to ...?

  'The gratitude of the Royal Government and the Cambodian people toward the government of the People’s Republic of China, a great and long term close friend'.

  All the way back to the Khmer Rouge times ....

• Priceless? Mastercard and Hotel de la Paix are donating push bikes to students in Siem Reap.

• Road tax to be paid! Vehicles excluded are:

  'ambulances and fire trucks; vehicles belonging to the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, the military police and the police; any vehicles used for national defence or security; and diplomatic or consular vehicles'.

  What's left?

• Cambodia's car industry takes off!

  'former math and physics teacher from Kampong Chhnang province, uses his knowledge to successfully come up with a solar-energy-powered car'.

• Expatadvisory's Phnom Penh forum has an article on child beggers on the street:

  'Which brings me to the Monivong - Sihanouk intersection. I see kids there every day. I frequently see traffic cops there every day, in the shade near CD World. ... Would it be a stretch to suggest the cops move the kids off the street? For their own safety?'

• More from the same forum. This time it's Phnom Penh's biggest mall, which is in for flak:

  'A Khmer friend left her moto & helmet there [Sorya] this week. When she came back they gave her her moto - but not her helmet.'

  The gist:

  'The car park attendants at Sorya are well know thieves'.

  Then the Lucky gets brought into the discussion:

  'The parking system at Lucky Sihanouk is far superior, but I still cringe at being charged to use a supermarket car park'.

  That's what you get when there's no competition ...
  

• People say Phnom Penh is safe, others deny, however after dark beware:

  'an English national is in stable condition at Calmette Hospital after being shot twice during a robbery outside his home near Russian Market early Sunday morning. Assailants shot Mark Fitzpatrick, age unknown, in the back and chest and stole his motorbike around 1:30am, according to police'.

  The discussion continues:

  'Don't tell me... this guy got here about six months ago and is calling himself an expat. I've had 3 friends "killed" here since '02. I've had dozens of friends get their motorcycles stolen.
  ...
  Foreigners have been getting knifed, conked over their heads, robbed, drugged, mugged, raped, swindled, shot, for as long as I can recall in Cambodia.'.

  That sort of sums up Phnom Penh's threats.

• Asialife focuses on Vespa's in Phnom Penh. Only for enthusiasts.

• Strongman not so in control, blames his underlings for failures:

  'Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen also repeated his previous recommendation to look at the roads. Samdech explained, ‘When I say again to look at the roads, that means: first, there must not be illegal check-points along the roads, and second, if the road is damaged, it must be repaired'.

• Kampot is getting sidewalks, according to Stan:

  'the riverside greenstrip is being completely redone. It compares favorably to its seedy, unkempt, grassy past, but it’s really not to my taste, since it’s nearly all pavement. The paving blocks are very nice and since there is no sidewalk on the river side of the street it’ll definitely come in handy for walkers.
  In practice, many people will probably continue walking in the street purely out of habit. I was at an outdoor table on Sisowath recently and saw a lot of people walking on the street even though the sidewalk was largely clear and usable. Some, the Barangs especially, seemed very uncomfortable with vehicles passing by them so closely and sometimes speedily but still didn’t think to move over to the sidewalk. I guess people have become so used to walking in the street the sidewalk just didn’t occur to them'.

  He also reveals why there are disabled ramps were built on Norodom:

  'Norodom, in fact, has gotten a lot worse with the disabled ramps that were recently installed. Now motorbikes have an easy way to use the sidewalk to avoid heavy traffic. They’ll come right at you expecting you to move out of their way. Hey Dude! This is the sidewalk UNDERSTAND - so have a little respect. I can definitely see the importance of society being more conscious of the needs of the handicapped, but in this case it didn’t work out very well, especially since it’s hardly ever used by the people it was intended to serve'.

  All in all a great entry on transportation in Cambodia.

• With the railways nearing complete dereliction, it's astounding that there is still freight getting moved, though with a downward trend.

• Car dealers are also feeling the pinch. The good news:
  

  'I am not that negative about the economy. As long as people have food to eat, there will be demand for cars.'

  Let's hope there will be no famine then.

• Haze? Here in Phnom Penh?

  'Have you ever wondered how much time gets knocked off your life expectancy when you're stuck in Phnom Penh traffic, behind an antiquated truck spewing thick, black smoke into your face?'

  Find the answer in this Phnom Penh Post article.

Chasing Cars Cambodian style, 24 May 2009

A round up:

• Cambodia’s PM goes against the grain. He actually wants bribery and especially bribing police to stop:

  ‘“Some government leaders give money to traffic police and the gendarmeries, but sometimes this kindness scorns the forces who apply the law and scorns the law as well,” Hun Sen said at a ceremony to change heads of the government’s counter-drug office. “Please stop doing it.”

  Why would he mention this at a counter- drug ceremony? And why is he so anti-Cambodian social norms?

• What is acceptable [from khmer440 forum]?

  'Someone has spent large at the Mercedes dealership today. I got pulled over by the police on Norodom this afternoon while a convoy of brand new Mercedes cars and minibuses headed south. There must have been over 40 vehicles, all of them spanking new. All the cars had signs in their front windows telling the names of different countries. Is Cambodia hosting a major international meeting?
  ....
  I wonder who payed for all those cars - that's some serious loot.'

  A.: ....?

• More gifts:

  'China on Tuesday provided about 73 million U.S. dollars of a concessional loan to Cambodia to build a part of main road in the northeastern part of the country to develop that area into a newly potential economic zone'.

  Technically it's not a gift, but who will pay this back?

• More on gifts, but now from the less fortunate Lao: '

  Lao cops accept donation.

  No doubt, these sponsored plastic traffic danger triangles will greatly assist them'.

• And now we are to find out what happens to the gifts: the speed guns are in use. At least according to the Phnom Penh Post (19-05-2009). But citing Phnom Penh's top cop:

  'We are reconsidering working at nighttime.... It is a bit hard to work at night for the police when they try to stop drunken drivers, especially in dark places'.

  Surprise, surprise, Cambodian drivers usually drink, drive and speed at night as during the day there is too much traffic and lights interfere with the drinking business!

• Meanwhile on the license plate biz front a Phnom Penh Post writer on Monday had the following:

  'The government is cracking down on cars with unauthorized police and military number plates. But around 8:30am, everyone can see Mercedeses with government plates driving the opposite way on Monivong Boulevard towards the Council of Ministers building. Why do cars with government plates insist on driving in the opposite lane during rush-hour traffic, as if they were an emergency vehicle like an ambulance or firetruck?'

• And then the PM waded in:

  'During a speech at the Ministry of Interior, Hun Sen ordered ministers to take action after he noticed that drivers were still flouting his recent ban on the use of RCAF and police plates by unauthorised vehicles. He said he had ordered the ministers of interior and defence to establish a deadline for drivers to get rid of their illegal licence plates, saying any cars still bearing unauthorised tags would be confiscated by the state.'

• Not only cars need to confiscated, according to yet again another Phnom Penh Post article:

  'Police could be empowered to seize and confiscate motorbikes without side mirrors under a Land Traffic Law amendment proposed by Prime Minister Hun Sen. Drivers without helmets would also be subject to the amendment suggested in a speech Tuesday'.

  That seems a bit harsh. Moreover it's against the law. Currently only art. 84 gives police the powers to confiscate, but only in cases of overloading a truck. Despite that traffic police do regularly confiscate cars after accidents, this in clear contravention of art. 72. One problem with laws are that they are supposed to be adhered to. And considering that a new law can take anything of up to 10 years to draw up (in the case of anti-corruption), amending this law might take some time.
  Finally, Phnom Penh's top traffic cop adds a curious remark:

  '"I think it is good that the law [will] allow police to catch the motorbikes to warn those who do not respect the law because fining them does not seem to be very effective," he said'.

  But we have already proven (see previous Chasing Cars that it's the police who are failing to be effective, not the law!

• On law enforcement, from Thailand, a mention in today's Bangkok Post.:

  'Director Nonsri "Oui" Nimibutr has been convicted on a second drink-driving offence. A court has sentenced the former drink-driving campaigner to 14 days in jail, reduced to seven days confinement after he confessed. They also suspended his licence for six months.
  ...
  "I want the court to reconsider the sentence. I don't want to just sit around for seven days. How about getting me to front another advertisement, free of charge, on the dangers of drink-driving?"'.

Yeah, how come?

• Finally on trip advisor someone who has more info on Mekong Express buses. More than the company themselves.

Somewhere along the highway in Kampong Thom province.

Chasing cars, 17 May, 2009

Another list of updates:

• Prominently, it seems another corner of Cambodia which elicits non-stop whining is nearing it's demise:

  "We have a comfortable ride to Siem Reap since the road is nearly finished now." The road from Poipet that is. What remains: 'So we're finally done, and prepare ourselves for the most difficult step, getting the taxi to Siem Reap'.

• Up next as always, ah yes, the non-allowed license plates.
  

  'Prime Minister Hun Sen warned last week against the use of police and military license plates by civilians and low-ranking officers, saying the government would seize vehicles bearing unauthorised plates as part of a crackdown set to go into effect this month'.

  How does the law work in Cambodia?

  'Phnom Penh Traffic Police Chief Tin Prasoeur said he viewed Hun Sen's remarks as a "notice that we have to start implementing" the law. We immediately started implementing it after the prime minister's speech," he said, although he said this "implementation" involved only the recording of registration plate numbers that appeared to be in violation of the law.
  "We just take the plate numbers down. We do not fine them," he said'.

  Big help? Thinks not. The article originally from the Phnom Penh Post attracts a fair amount of passionate commentators on KI Media.
  

• Two days later the Phnom Penh Post wades in yet again:

  'Crackdown on unauthorised plates has led to a surge in applications for civilian plates at vehicle registration office.Police on Tuesday continued removing unauthorised police and military license plates from vehicles throughout the capital, but officers said they had not yet begun administering punishments specifically outlined in the law that prohibits civilians and low-ranking officials from using such plates'.

• Law enforcement?

  'POLICE ZEALOUS IN ENFORCING NEW LAW
  

  Van Yeth, 29, was reportedly beaten by Phnom Penh police Friday after he was stopped for driving a vehicle with no registration plates. The conflict erupted when police fined the man 9,000 riels (US$2.25), but failed to return change from US$10. The victim is threatening legal action after the incident, which occurred on Russian Boulevard, Sen Sok district, Phnom Penh'.

  Phnom Penh Posts Police Blogger.
  

• And ... some more law enforcement issues:

  'Traffic police say they are planning to crack down on speeding, drunken driving and driving without a license, with drivers being dealt fines as soon as next week'.

  Rest assured:

  '"We received the order to implement these laws this week, but due to the holiday, we will implement them next week," he said'.

  Crossing Cambodia just renewed his license, took 4 weeks, cost 35$. Cambodia Daily (13 May 2009) adds:

  'the delay also arose out of a need to further advertise the laws and fines more effectively to the public'.

  HIB (cited in the Cambodia daily):

  'it is high time enforcement starts as statistics indicate most traffic accidents on Cambodia's mostly lawless roads are caused by drink driving and speeding'.

  However, the Road Safety Cambodia site states:

  'Over 90% of accidents are caused by human error. Speed, particularly along the national roads, drink-driving, dangerous overtaking and general violations of the traffic law are the chief causes of accidents (RTAVIS 2007)'.

• Last Chasing Cars reported on how Cambodian villagers were blocking the Trans Asian highway. More inaccurate reporting, this time by the VoA.

• Trans-Asian Highway. Trans-Asian Railway. According yet again to VoA:

  'Chinese and Australian engineers are gearing up to build the final stretch of track in the Trans-Asian Railway, which will link Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand with Vietnam and China through Cambodia. The Cambodian government has divided the country's railway system in two. Australia's Toll Holdings takes control of old French-built lines in the east, which run from the capital to the Thai border and south to Sihanoukville, home to one of the largest ports in the Gulf of Siam'.

  The Chinese apparently will look into connecting Phnom Penh to Vietnamese rail system via Snoul. Possibly if they look better at the map, they might discover that this is by far the shortest distance ... not.

Another piece of Cambodia's Trans-Asian Bamboo bridge, here the Kampong Cham section.

• Finally, on the Khmer 440 forum this question:

  'Do cars require a safety Certificate in Cambodia every year?'

  A.: No.