Khmer customs (?)

A blog entry on the khmer 440 site sums up their impression of Khmer driving skills (or lack thereof ...) Conclusion:

'So road rage is alive and well in Cambodia, maybe I should take a leaf out of the book of our Khmer Government hosts’ and just shoot the bastards that piss me off. After all, everyone keeps telling me that I should respect their culture more…'.

In the same vein contributions have been coming in on the 440 forum site:

'Last Wednesday, within 24 hours I saw 2 major bike crashes happening in front of my eyes'.

Which got me thinking: how fucking difficult can it be to lauch a MAJOR campaign on tv, lets say around the favorite Khmer soap, or the leader's speeches? It's not like traffic regulations are rocket science. Cambodia needs a few rules and things would go a lot safer, not to mention smoother'.(rukker)

'The problem is enforcement. Thanks to corruption, the police, especially the traffic police, are worse than useless. And even more so, since driving habits are partly a social or cultural issue - affecting change here really requires a strong and respected authority, which is not a very accurate description of the police'.(barangbarang)

'Of course you need enforcement. But many Khmers honestly think that their behaviour is ok because that's the way it's developed over many years. Thing is: by now there is so much traffic that things that were going smoothly in the past, now create gridlocks and accidents all over the place'.(rukker)

'I saw an accident on the riverside in front of The Lounge, I believe it was. A guy in a silver Lexus SUV comes out of a side street and turns left onto the riverside(Sisowath Quay) at the same time as another older SUV hits the gas. This was about 1am. The older SUV smashed the back of the Lexus with extensive front-end damage to his SUV and with not as bad damage to the Lexus. I was perplexed as the Lexus owner and friend got out to survey the damage but the other driver and passanger didnt get out. I asked the guy who runs that Mexican restaurant on108 street and he seemed to know the guy driving the lexus. He said the accident was more than the drivers life was worth'.(kimcheemonster)

More accounts of untoward actions and free advise as is often dispensed in this blog.

An interesting development over the last few days has been in the increase of mirrors on motorcycles. Crossing Cambodia has witnessed this first hand and actually seen people buying mirrors! But, as is the case exemplified from the khmer 440 forum site, some enforcement may go astray. Apparently according to this forum posting, police are also persuing legislation enforcement of laws not yet passed ....:

'Alleged fine is 5,000 riel for each missing side view mirror. (...) It felt weird at first having mirrors again, but I like it. Can see the thieves coming now and race off!

Rumour has it the helmet law will be passed in 2 months, although some police are already enforcing it, although it doesnt exist yet'.