Chasing Cars yet again

• Under the government's search light this week are yet again the tuk-tuk's:

  'City Hall has announced it will stop fining tuk-tuk drivers who lack licence plates until the end of the year, but a ban on tuk-tuks driving along Norodom Boulevard is set to remain in place.
  ...
  Nhem Saron, director of the Municipal Department of Public Works and Transport, said drivers must all respect the Land Traffic Law. “We did allow [tuk-tuks] to drive along Norodom Boulevard, but they did not respect" the law, he said. City Hall cabinet chief Koet Chhe said the city did not allow tuk-tuks to drive along Norodom Boulevard because they wanted to keep roads clear for foreign delegations visiting Cambodia'.

  Yet, if they want the roads clear, why take all the Lexuses off, they would make a much bigger impact.

• And more under the spotlight. Now even Deputy PM's (how many?) will not be allowed to use sirens ...

Air transport seems to be the most talked about, just look at the following articles:

• Phnom Penh just might be connected to the Philippines in the not so distant future, thereby avoiding an expensive flight to Saigon or backtracking to Bangkok.

  'Cebu Pacific Air, a Philippines-based airline, plans to begin direct flights between its home country and Cambodia in the spring of 2010, Minister of Tourism Thong Khon said Tuesday'.

  Funny how you are in a regional grouping striving to be one economy and not have direct flights. Next up Djakarta?

• Sihanoukville's airport has been personally declared fit to open by the Minister some time back, but the official opening seems to be in the phase of putting off to the future.

  'The official opening of Preah Sihanouk International Airport has been delayed until next year at the request of the French embassy, State Secretariat of Civil Aviation (SSCA) Secretary of State Mao Havannal said Thursday'.

  So minister yes, French embassy no. Some much for Cambodia being a sovereign state ...

• Sovereignty is at the heart of the following.
  The plot:
  Cambodia not like Thai, Thai not like Cambodia.
  Some Thai not like Thaksin.
  Thaksin get kicked out of country.
  Cambodia now like Thaksin.
  Thaksin go to Cambodia.
  Thai in uproar.
  Cambodia not care.
  Apparently Cambodian skies are controlled by Thai firm Samart using CATS as the local front office. One employee hands over flight plan of Thaksin after he has landed (and traversed Thai air space) to Thai embassy official. Cambodia arrests person, kicks official out and takes over the company.

  'Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said Cambodia’s takeover of CATS was “temporary” but necessary “to ensure national security and public safety".

  Which was not the case before hand?
  What is the reality? Nine Thai are replaced by 1 Cambodian. That should be good for the confidence of all Cambodian air travellers.
  KI Media adds:

  'Cambodia rejected Monday a Thai media claim that the daughter of Prime Minister Hun Sen is to take a stake in a Thai firm at the centre of a spying row'.

  An ASEAN spying row?

A Russian project to build a bridge to Koh Pos just off the coast of Sihanoukville.

Rail news.

• The railways are decrepit and so a foreign company will spruce them up. that costs money. So some things have to go. Personnel. Apparently the company's previous business plan was as follow:
  

  'Development at the Royal Railways of Cambodia totally stopped, trains run at speeds of 40km/h down to 5km/h'.

  A train driver laments:
  

  'At present, I only earn a salary of Riel 116,000 [approx. U$29] per month, and I have been working as a train driver for 28 years. Other workers shouted annoyingly, ‘Even nobody is promoted to new positions, and nobody knows when the salaries will be paid; if there are promotions, this happens only to their partisans.’

  The Mirror adds as final sentence:

  '“The under-secretary of state in charge of the Royal Railways of Cambodia, Mr. Touch Chankosal, told Deum Ampil, ‘I did not know that the workers had protested" '.
  

• Andy the only train spotter Cambodia has, is now focusing on finding missing train stations as there are no trains to spot.

  'For a look at one of those destroyed stations, the shell of Koh Touch, some 16 kms west of Kampot, is worth a look if you are out that way. Some of the walls remain as do the floor tiles, but very little else, as the vegetation has a stranglehold on what's left. A group of female rice-workers in a nearby field looked at me as though I was a complete madman as I took pictures of this empty ghost of the bygone days of the southern line'.

• Another boat disaster. The term used seems a bit out of sync.

  'The bodies of a father and his three children who drowned after a boat carrying seven people capsized in Kandal province’s Lvea Em district on Wednesday morning have all been recovered'.

• New Zealand teaches us road rules.

  'A stint in Cambodia teaches you to appreciate road rules. Traffic lights, pedestrian crossings, the give-way rule and seat belts reveal themselves as true blessings. In my time in Cambodia I was honked at, swerved past, almost run over and driven into the path of an oncoming concrete truck by an unrepentant tuk tuk driver.
  ...
  You certainly learn to appreciate roads rules for what they are - lifesavers'.

Chasing cars, 3-9-09

Heavy rain has been coming down for the past 4-5 days rendering much of Phnom Penh's infrastructure unusable, at least during the rains themselves. Holes are re-appearing in the street and poor roads are now getting a wash out, take care. What is known as the only flood map of the city, discussed on Khmer 440 has seen added comments 2 years after the original. An update is apparently underway ....

• Enforcing the law. The police claim now to have (temporarily) confiscated nearly 100,000 vehicles! Quite a feat. What's more surprising is that over 1% of this vehicles remain unclaimed, can't believe it myself.

• Discussion on Khmer 440 also involves comments saying the traffic situation is changing slowly for the better. Crossing Cambodia is yet to see itself as do others, though 2 from members reporting a 'Hummer' giving way! Response:

  'Yeah I know the Hummer guy. Don't get your hopes too high quite yet. His maid's on vacation in the province and he doesn't want to wash off the blood and bones fragments by himself so he's taking it easy this week.
  She's back next sunday and he'll hit the road (and the rest of us) with a vengeance'.

  That's more like it ....

• Anyway according to a report of the Traffic Police

  '299 tourists were involved in road accidents in Cambodia in the first half of 2009, compared with just 168 in the first half of 2008'.

  During that period there were less tourists, so have all of sudden the farang turned into bad drivers? The report has no answers. Why target transport companies for tourist?

  '"It is really very bad for our tourism sector when tourists die in road accidents here," said Sem Psnha Vuth, victim and road accident information controller. "Visitors who see road accidents will be shocked."

  What about the 'common people'? Not so bad?
  

• The last CC post entry contained a reference to Phnom Penh Posts interview with a female moto-taxi driver. Apparently they are 'rare', they claim. Funny though that the Globe August edition are able to get an interview with another female moto-dup chauffeur. Copy-cats? Though it may be rare and seen as something special Morn Thida denies this.
  

  'What challenges do you face as a female motodop?
  To be honest there aren’t that many challenges as the job isn’t difficult.'

  She does note a specialty not often en-counted with moto-dops:

  'Most people, from my experience, would rather I ask than pretend to know where I am going'.
  

  However the Globe seems to be intend to make Thida feel strange as they insist on asking questions concerning the female element. Thida shrugs them all off. Out of desperation the next to last question is :

  'If you were to marry, do you think your husband would mind your choice of profession?
  I can’t imagine he would mind. If he can find another job for me that pays more, then great, I’ll try that',

  Thida answers. Welcome to the 21st century, Globe!

• The Globe is also the source of an in-depth article on Cambodia's new airline, Cambodia Angkor Air. Mostly the article points out the promise. This week it also took delivery of an Airbus, so as to expand the number of flights which seems to contradict the dire econmic times. Whether it's the right move remains to be seen:

  'The airline - which launched July 27 - had seen a steady increase in passenger numbers, with an average passenger load of between 30 and 40 percent during the first month of operations, he said, without supplying official data, which he said was not yet available'.

  Considering the prices were $6 on the main internal stretch, the economic logic seems to be far away. A CAA spokesperson:

  ' "For the first few years, we do not expect any profits. We will just promote our carrier and attract customers" '.
  

  Deep pockets?

• More past to present info. This time tracks. As expected rail dwellers are not to get much for moving off the rail. The PPP accompanies a brief and boring report with a photo of kids playing on the tracks.

• Then the traffic on water. More cash is in the offering for a 'port' in Kep so as to enable tourists heading for The former Cambodian island of Phu Coc, again reported by the PPP. A conference center is what is on the cards ...

• With less tourists, boat companies are clashing in Siem Reap over tourists, so reports the PPP. Background of the 'clashes':
  

  ' "The Cambodian Association of Travel Agents has no business organising boat tours. They have become involved in order to protect the interests of rich and powerful people," he said'.
  

  Ah, such is the Khmer republic ...

Chasing Cars, 1 March 2009

Followers (why has no-one registered Crossing Cambodia as to be followed?) of this blog may have been wondering what's happening. So have I!

To tell you the truth not much at all is happening. Being the first of March, one would have expected that the men in blue would have brought Phnom Penh under helmets by now, but that point is slowly slipping away. Crossing Cambodia estimates that helmet wearing has dropped from 80-90% to just 50-70%. This despite the more than usual coppers on the road trying to stop anyone vaguely offending some kind of rule. That's unless, like last Saturday, the offender was wearing an army cap (and no helmet). We're not going to stop him!

• But it's good to see something else pop up on the agenda. Once more. Now two years overdue.

  'National Police Chief Neth Savoeun has ordered police across the country to start punishing, as of May, any civilians or low-ranking police or army officers whose vehicles bear police or military licence plates.
  ...
  The crackdown would also apply to vehicles with no plates at all, he added'.

  Wish them luck. But as it is 2 weeks later, nothing to be seen! '

  She [Mu Sochua, opposition spokesperson] said an earnest effort to enforce the law, not more stern words about it, was needed. She added that a real crackdown on illegally procured plates was "beyond" the National Police chief, given how pervasive the practice has become'.

  Nearly everything is pervasive in Cambodia.

• Next up were

  'the motorbikes pulling overloaded trailers'

  The reason:

  '"We do not allow big motorbikes to tow trailers into the city because it causes traffic jams and makes the city look messy and disorderly," said Chav Hak, deputy chief of the Phnom Penh Municipal Traffic Police'.

  Subjectivity at it's best. Put more bluntly, these guys are so unpowerful we can easily cash in on them! An offender:
  

  "We have spent more than 30,000 riels ($7.27) at police checkpoints along the national road from Kampong Speu to Phnom Penh," he said. "Look at the police. They are not skinny. We work hard, but we are still very skinny."

• Odd for a city where taxi's are nowhere to be found. Phnom Penh is mentioned in a list of cities where to avoid taxi's. That can't be too difficult then!
  

  'Therefore, we recommend making alternative travel arrangements in the following areas!'

  First in a unlisted list is Phnom Penh:

  'Phnom Penh is a friendly [compared to what?] and laid back tourist destination, but hailing a taxi is an experience you won’t particularly enjoy [because there are none?]. You won’t have as much trouble getting a taxi as you will getting rid of your driver once you reach your destination. Many drivers insist on becoming your personal tour guide, of course collecting fares for each destination they deliver you to along the way. Before you head to Cambodia ask your travel agent to recommend a few good transportation companies or you might want to try a rickshaw. You can easily hire a driver for an entire day for a minimal cost and without the scary stalker experience'.

  Load of ****. My own list would most certainly include Kuala Lumpur where the taxi-folk are 50/50 aforementioned word. Impolite, rude, greedy and simply obnoxious quite a few are the rotten apples there. Elsewhere? Bali, Singapore, Bangkok, Vientiane, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh, Chiang Mai are all ok, Kathmandu might be slightly iffy.

• Competition on the horizon? A 27 year old male propably working for Handicap Internbational has set up his own blog. And publishes statistics and the odd (uncited) article from the news concerning traffic safety in Cambodia. Looks pretty boring as there is no personal touch. And plays it safe! Ha! What's wrong with criticizing the Cambo officials?

• From the SE Globe:

  'Let’s be blunt. Phnom Penh isn't friendly to pedestrians. SUVs roar down potholed streets, horns screaming as pedestrians and motos scurry for cover. These “connected” drivers don’t need licence plates and the police don’t seem to car'.

  A nice readable article, a bit utopian here and there, but if one can't dream, what then?

  'Traffic engineers refer to three “Es”: engineering, education and enforcement. Engineering has been discussed, but education and enforcement remain. That’s why the government works with groups such as HIB. It has given the police 100 global positioning system (GPS) detectors so they can gather data about traffic accident trends. By mapping them, they can see the most dangerous zones for pedestrians and vehicles, said Sem Panhavuth of HIB. It’s a small step in the right direction. Pedestrian safety is paramount in a city that aspires to a higher world ranking than given it by National Geographic magazine and values its tourist industry. One conspicuous sign of prosperity is not traffic density but the recognition that grace and architectural beauty are better seen at walking pace'.

Chasing Cars Cambodian Style, 17 December 2008

My last posting before all Cambodia motorcyclists are supposed to become helmet clad. Or not.

• WHO in Vietnam claim that the compulsory helmets have saved

  '... more than 1,000 lives since it was introduced a year ago'.

  Which is more than 10% and has reversed increasing of traffic fatalities. Show's to some extent that the Vietnamese government take protecting their own serious.
  This contrasts with the situation here, where helmets have been compulsory for nearly two years but the traffic police are not enforcing. They have announced to implement the law as of Jan. 1, though we have heard that often before.
  

• But it's not only helmets that worries Cambodian authorities:

  'Of the more than 800,000 motorbikes registered in Cambodia, only 14,000 driver's licences have been issued since the enforcement of traffic laws in 2007, according to transport officials, who are resorting to new tactics to increase knowledge of the Kingdom's road rules'.

  That's nearly 2%! Or in other words 98% have no license. New tactics however seem to be the same as ever:

  '... giving lessons on traffic law [at selected number of high schools in Phnom Penh]'.

  What about enforcing the measures? The above mentioned article on helmets in Vietnam mentions fines of 12$!

• Other worries:

  'The skies over Dangkor district [of Phnom Penh] will be free of kites following an announcement by aviation authorities Thursday that kite-flying posed a risk to airplane safety and would henceforth be banned in the area'.

  Though a general international rule, CC doubts whether the skies will be truly free, a ban needs to be enforced. And how to ban? New tactics?

  'Most of the kite flyers are aged between 10 and 14 years old, and if we cannot educate them, then we will have to educate their parents'.

  Yawn.
  

• Then real worries or not? The link refers to a forum on the Tales of Asia concerning disembarking from the boot on the Phnom Penh - Siem Reap stretch. Two persons fell in the water with luggage. Damages are not paid:

  'Yes, they [the boat companies] are insured but the insurance stops when the boat engines are cut...'.

  Advice:

  'My concluding recommendation is to avoid selling this boat trip.
  Not only is it dangerous but it’s a completely overhyped tourist trap.
  1. Most of the trip (4 out of 5 hours) is on the Tonle Sap Lake, meaning there is nothing to see but lake water.
  2. The boat is quite crowded with very narrow seats and luggage is placed in the aisle.
  3. There are no stops on the way, no refreshments or snacks are offered.
  4. It’s comparatively expensive.
  Instead the bus should be recommended'.
  

• The same site also has a recent mention of the road to Siem Reap from the Thai border.

  'Fun at the best of times after seven days of continuous rain the way now looked prime. Ships in a storm seldom roll so furiously. I gripped the seat in front with fingers, toes and even kneecaps. My head begged my neck to let it smash itself through the glass window. Nineteen people from eight different countries abruptly had nothing to say, in part for fear of severing one’s own tongue.
  ...
  Driving 150 kilometres from the border of Thailand we arrived at our destination over nine hours later'.

  
  The Cambodia Daily though reported last week how tourists were being 'kidnapped' by rivalry between competing transport companies in Poipet, a great place ... to leave.
  

• Is this a worry for Cambodian's roads?
  

  'Sam An, 43, who runs a private automobile dealership on Phnom Penh's Monivong Boulevard, said his sales have declined by up to 50 percent over the last six months from a peak during the building boom of 2006, 2007 and the early part of 2008'.

Chasing Cars, the wet edition

Some torrential down pours this week. This lead to a first feature:

• Vuthasurf describes what happens when the heavens open themselves. The consequences are
  a. everybody waits til the rain is over.
  b. the streets flood
  c. once drier everybody simultaneously decides to hit the flooded streets.
  
  And then?

  'During the rain, the drivers of cars and motorbikes rarely respect the traffic light.... While I reached the traffic light, the large number of motorbikes, cars, and trucks close together and unable to move or moving very slowly in the middle of street'.

  And the traffic police:

  'While during the chaos in the street, I did not see the traffic police officers at the sense in order to help ease the trouble of the traffic'.

  That about sums up this week. Rain, traffic jams and incompetence. Incompetence? Surely not!
  
  Just yesterday on a stretch of Sihanouk Boulevard two squads of 8 police men each trying to apprehend everything evil passing, which seems to be everything with a motor and on two wheels. They were positioned on 2 busy intersections. Due to some poor macro-economic planning from Cambodia's chief of staff my journey coincided with a power cut rendering the brand new set of traffic lights useless. So traffic snarls up. And what do the police do? Nada! Not their problem.
  

• The blame game continues, now (IRIN reports) the traffic deaths are due to 'rapid urbanization', as if safety issues are non-achievable. If this were the case then the most urban of countries would have the highest number of deaths, but that's not the case.

  'But even better roads create other problems, Duly [road safety adviser for Handicap International Belgium]contends.
  “Now people have wider, paved roads right outside the city, and they go even faster,” he told IRIN. “Speeding accounts for half of all fatalities.” Alleviating the number of fatalities, said Duly, means educating the population about road safety and encouraging police to enforce traffic laws.
  
  Another priority is making sure the Ministry of Public Works and Transport has the capacity to gather and analyse traffic data. Handicap International gave more than 100 GPS detectors and data-gathering tools to the police to improve the mapping of accident trends.
  
  “It's very important they have these tools to look at accidents,” said Sem Panhavuth, who manages road safety data for Handicap International. “So far they haven't been able to analyse much where accidents are happening or where they might occur.”'

  So clearly HIB doubt whether the traffic police can add up. Instead they even need GPS to note the places where accidents happens. What happened to old-fashion methods of reporting where the accident took place and putting pins on a map. You could even digitize the reports, but all can be done without GPS. Wasting money?
  Then the reality:

  'Cambodian police officers regularly abuse traffic laws in favour of government and business elites, drivers claim.
  
  “Any time there's a motorbike or car accident, the more powerful person gets his way,” said Sok Chesda, a motorbike taxi driver in Phnom Penh. “Usually we don't even call the police, but just leave the scene if a rich person hits us, even if they are at fault.”
  
  When a traffic accident means injury or damage to a vehicle, the two sides negotiate a price and settle on who should pay — usually the party with fewer government connections, a group of taxi drivers said.
  
  Police in Phnom Penh are, nonetheless, minimally involved in traffic enforcement. Instead of enforcing crucial laws against speeding, drunk driving, or wearing helmets, they focus on “easier” regulations like rear-view mirrors and licence plates, Duly said.
  
  “It's good they're enforcing those types of laws too, but we're really urging them to recognise the importance of stopping speeders and drunk drivers.”
  
  However, according to Sok: “If the police stop me for speeding or anything, I'll just give them 2,000 riels [US$0.50] and continue driving,” he said.'

  Just yesterday a person Crossing Cambodia knows was asked to pay 50$ for no apparent infringement!
  

• Then again it's not always clear how traffic safety issues work. From the NZ Herald no less, an image of Thailand:
  
  
• A couple of weeks ago, a mention of a Phnom Penh cyclists club, this time a Vespa scooter club. Sopach adds an up date. The objective: '

  'To travel countryside and to make friends'.

  Accompanied by Vespa mechanic!

• And what's the reality out of PP? Kampuchea Crossings (like the name) highlight the lack of development in Kampot province.
  

Chasing Cars, Khmer New Year 2008 style

• Some would forget that this week is part of the global effort to ensure road safety. This was passed off in Phnom Penh by a great celebration in the Olympic Stadium. At the pow-wow, Chreang Sophan, Deputy Governor of the Phnom Penh Municipality, representing the Municipal Governor Kep Chuk Tema, stated amongst others that:

  'Responding to these issues [increasing numbers of accidents] under the smart [?] leadership of Samdech Akkak Moha Senapadei Dekchor Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Phnom Penh Municipality will be implementing road constructions and road repair plans by paving roads in four districts by the end of 2008, and other plans will be implemented in three other districts in the suburbs'.

  If this is the government's response, then clearly they are in serious need of (re-)education. Furthermore:

  'The deputy municipal governor also called on citizens who travel in the city to drive carefully, and firmly practice the measures passed in the land traffic law. Especially those who use motorcycles and bicycles must wear helmets. ... He appealed to all citizens, the users of vehicles and the users of roads countrywide, to respect and to strictly implement the measures stated in the Cambodian Land Traffic Law, ...'.

  Clearly this official fails to grasp the reality of the traffic law, i.e. bicycle drivers do not require helmets! In a summation of the most important measures of the now old traffic law, this official fails to signify that traffic police are not to accept 'donations'. Practically the only time these curb huggers get into action is to accept donations from passing trucks. Strictly implement?
  

• Cambodia Daily (April 8, 2008) also comments on this 'celebration'.

  'Road Safety Week, which kicked off Sunday, aims to raise awareness and reduce traffic awareness and reduce traffic accidents in the days during and around the three day holiday. ... Sun Chanthol [Minister of Public Works and Transport] urged travelers to keep from speeding and overloading vehicles. He also called on motorcyclists to wear safety helmets and for drivers to follow new traffic laws'.

  Oddly enough (if you read next item) it quotes RTAVIS statistics:

  '.... 4 percent of drivers wear helmets'.

  A misquote / failure to understand statistics?
  

• What does the Cambodian donor community do, except financing such nonsense?

  'The president of Handicap International Belgium [HIB] stated that the topic of this Week of Land Traffic Safety, held for the second time in Cambodia, was to cooperate to reduce traffic accidents through the respect of the traffic law'.

  Cooperate! Luckily HIB are saved by a recent update on the roadsafetycambodia site concerning the use of helmets. Clearly, it states that the law should have been implemented as of Sept. 1 last year, but compulsory helmet usage is not being enforced (as are none of the other articles of the law).
  
  Here at Crossing Cambodia we have commented on the fact that only 25-35% of the moto's use helmets. This is validated by this research which concluded that the rate of helmet usage was about 28% with a variation of 25-34%. So much for their research, they could just of looked at this site (and saved some money / time).
  
  There was some variation though. On some roads outside Phnom Penh, up to 50% of the traffic participants had helmets on. Crossing Cambodia could also state that female drivers also more often use helmets. Their main conclusion:

  'Through out the survey, in 2008 we found that the number of helmet wearing increase in all surveyed national road and in average 8.66% increase. This number will rapidly increase if the new traffic law was respect by the people and the traffic police start to enforce the law and the traffic police take action on the people who don’t wear helmet'.

  Now where have we heard this before? Possibly the main donor of this organization could pay more attention to enforcement than 'cooperation'.

• In Bangkok, red light dodging has lead the authorities to institute cameras at more than 30 intersections. That's what today's (10 April 2008) Bangkok Post mentions on it's front page.

  'During a trial more than 2,000 vehicles went through red lights in a week at 15 intersections where cameras had been installed.'

  Goes to show, that the only gain, in traffic culture, is pain! Hello Cambodia,are we paying attention?
  

• A comparison with Iraq! Finally, Cambodia has something to be proud of. Or not? The Cambodia Daily of sometime this week reports on an ox-cart which was rigged to a bomb so as to injure/kill it's owner!

  'At about 6 am (Monday, April 7, 2008), an activist for local rights group Adhoc in Kampong Chhnang province, was about to move his oxcart in Khlong Popoak commune, when he discovered two large recoilless rifle shells tied to a small trigger under the cart'.

  It could have caused an explosion covering 30 square meters!

• Cambodia Daily (7 April 2008) headlines: 'Cops among four arrested on extortion claims':

  'The four [a district police official, a provincial tax officer and two money collectors] allegedly operated a checkpoint on a 7 km dirt road taking money from fish sellers and drivers since 2004 [!]. They apparently took [extorted is meant] up to $50 per vehicle. A local company received permission to collect tolls [read bribes] from 2004 to 2020, but not until repairs the company had promised [ah promises are not meant to be kept] are done'.

  Only now has action been undertaken, does this have anything to do with the coming elections except pure co-incidence?

• Innovative ways to ask drivers to be more human? 'No Horn Day' for instance in Mumbai. For those of us who fail to grasp English, it has nothing to do with sex.

  'Mumbai is very horny. ... Everybody honks because the other is honking. It’s an atavistic instinct it seems. I will be thought of as weak if I don’t honk. They honk when they get free roads and honk of course when there is a red light. Of what use is the horn when the Red light is speaking to you. Why pressurize? But I am an old man at 30 closing my ears at different junctions. Everyday I invariably tell the auto I am in to not honk. Only to be stared back in hatred. Drive, they ask back in silence. Drive in this mess you elite bastard with weak ears, they seem to ask me. I ask them if they don’t hate all this honking? They smile back. Occupational hazard…why take it so seriously! The world honks and so do I. So will you, once you take the wheel'.

  Well, things change:

  'On Monday, officially declared No Horn Day, the Mumbai traffic police, in a fell swoop, fined thousands of drivers for violating honking rules in the city. The count up to 6 pm was 6,195 cases.
  Beginning Monday night, the cops plan to crack down further and prosecute offenders under the Environment Protection Act, which has far more stringent penalties: this act, which can be used in cases ranging from bursting firecrackers or blasting loudspeakers after 10 pm to honking at night, has a maximum fine of Rs 1 lakh depending on the severity of the offence.
  
  "This will prove an effective deterrent to errant drivers," joint commissioner of police Hemant Karkare told TOI. "However, this move is at a preliminary stage. We need some more preparation before we go the whole hog".
  
  Karkare declared that the crackdown against shrill and reverse horns, unnecessary honking and honking in silence zones would go on. When a journalist mentioned that SRK felt that No Horn Day should continue for a week, he riposted, "It's not one day or one week. This will now continue permanently".

Minor news, a round up:

• Another motorbike stolen while simultaneously shooting it's owner.
  
• A bus kills a cyclist, who forgot to look over his shoulder.
  
• Connect Cambodia (with?) is/are astounded by the 'traffic sprawl'.
• Cambodia's PM knows what his citizens are thinking:

  'For Hun Sen, there are several reasons which explained this low participation. First of all, the Phnom Penh city dwellers “are fed up with the traffic jams caused by these demonstrations.”'

  Considering there are hardly 'these demonstrations' taking place (unless in front of KFC on Monivong, where demonstrations of lack of consideration take place on a daily basis) and traffic grid lock is expanding daily, maybe it might pay to get traffic lights to function and to enforce the need for motorists to stop when the light is red!
• An older article which has just resurfaced on Crossing Cambodia's desk. Alas, no date, but undoubtedly from the Cambodia Daily. Ship had hit another sunken ship.

  'A Phnom Penh Port Authority official claimed that Friday's capsizing of a boat carrying sand on the Tonle Sap occurred after it had snagged the top of another sand-carrying boat that had been sitting on the bottom of the river since December. ... Phnom Penh police chief Touch Naruth reiterated Monday that there were no tourists aboard the vessel and ....'.

  What a relief! No tourists on a sand barge!
  

Public vs. private

The perpetual battle between private and public is coming back to the forefront. Roads are a classic example of a public space needed and required for everybody. However, Crossing Cambodia in the past few weeks has mentioned a road (to Bokor) being upgraded by private companies to stimulate private investment though it is unclear whether or not the previously public road will become private and if so what the fees might be. Discussed as well was the use of roads and sidewalks as parking space for successful companies' customers. Then there is the privatisation of the railways which again privatises a public investment with unknown returns. Yesterday's (Wednesday March 5, 2008) Cambodia Daily a Letter to the Editor harks forth on the same topic.

'Return public sidewalks to use for public. Provide the public with a smooth and peaceful walking area please!'

It refers to a TV programme which highlighted Phnom Penh traffic problems and how the government was dealing with this issue.

'However the program did not raise much about the issue of messy and disorderly sidewalks, which need to be addressed if we are to reduce traffic jams and beautify Phnom Penh. Homeowners, restaurants or hotels overtake most sidewalks.They try to own sidewalks. .... They park their vehicles on the sidewalk. ... Pedestrians always have to walk on the street to avoid stuff that has been placed or built on the sidewalk. Or walkers have to maneuver up and down the sidewalk in order to proceed. Why doesn't the Phnom Penh municipal authority do something to solve this problem? ... The municipal authority should push for public parking lots and no longer allow people to park arbitrarily, especially on narrow streets. ... Kimsan Chantara, Phnom Penh'

As if to compensate for that, 100 ramps to allow access for people in wheelchairs have been constructed on the west side of Norodom Boulevard. Note that Norodom is probably the road that has the least obstructions on the sidewalk as it's the alley for all dignitaries to parade themselves.
Paid by the businesses along Norodom? No (in Cambodia,it is customary for riparians to fund the construction of sidewalks) By the government then? No, but funding came from a 'semi-autonomous government body, the National Centre for Disabled Persons'.
A Handicap International spokespersons applauds the efforts:

'officials are on the right track. ... He added that as much as 8 percent of traffic accidents in 2006 involved pedestrians, highlighting the need for accessible sidewalks.'

Well, let's take a closer look at what they have done. Actually it's pretty amazing: at certain driveway's and side streets they have taken out the street stones and made ramps by applying cement. However, these ramps are sometimes quite steep, certainly not uniform. What's more, some side streets have them, others don't. Not very continuous. Crossing Cambodia included a couple of photo's:
The above example shows a ramp but after a couple of meters the sidewalk is blocked by cars, is it the World Bank that is using the sidewalk as a parking place? The next photo is even clearer, great ramp, but of no use!


Despite the sincerity of the project, one must ask the question why the heck initiate this if you can not ensure that the intended solution to the problem can not be obtained due to other reasons! All-in-all a good (i.e. bad) example of how the authorities muddle onwards trying to address the problems but never solving them!

Chasing Cars, 29 September, 2007

• This week Burma is never far away. The played indignation of western nations, which have tolerated for too long an autocratic regime. But now the USA is coming down hard on the regime. Ms. Rice insists Burma give a visa to the UN special rapporteur! Hardly a threat, I would think. The Burma regime will have no rights to a visa for the US, as of now. 'Naughty boys all of you!' Anyway Cambodia's northern neighbour Laos has no such qualms, according to this link:

  'Than Shwe's family is on a visit to Laos, the source added'.

  They just flew there. One thing for sure, they're not there for the shopping!



• Talking about shopping, China (the only 'true' friend of Burma) has saved Cambodia another shopping sortie. For motorbikes. An everyday.com.kh translated article reports that Cambodia is in line to receive 104 motorcycles. Yippee!

  'The Chinese ambassador stressed that, in the future, if Cambodia has other needs, China will provide them further'.

  Just in case Cambodia goes the Burma way, it's a great reassurance.
  
  The motorbikes will be called upon by the traffic police, to help them beat out the midday sun? Have you not noticed how traffic police in Phnom Penh have problems standing upright, they are always propping themselves up with assistance of a motorcycle.
  Anyway thanks China, how about doing something about the printing of receipts for traffic fines, they still have not surfaced?


• 
  
  
  Fellow blogger Cambodia maps has problems on his shopping sprees, the traffic on 174th-51st is apparently 'interesting'



• Some shoppers are better off, though two Indonesians [?] are now less fortunate. They are the 'puncture car thieves': car goes to bank, draws from expenses account (> 10,000 $US), returns, tries to leave, bummer! Flat tyre! While inspecting, thieves access car and take off with cash, Robin Hood style. Unfortunately, only
  

  'only two of them were caught on Mao Tse Tung Blvd'.

  There were four. So next time you intend to draw a couple of grand from your local bank, beware!



• More awareness required, but now for those unfortunate Lao. As if playing servant for their poor Burmese refugees (see above) is not enough, Lao authorities are drawing up a plan to ban tuk-tuks and jumbo's (a form of tuk-tuk, but with a larger motor, also known as a Skylab). Their offence?

  'Authorities see that these vehicles to some extent cause road accidents in the city, resulting in several deaths and injuries every month'.

  The Laoi authorities seek higher standards apparently:

  'We can all see that these vehicles are in poor condition. Some of them don't even have indicators, or front and back lights, ... '
  

  An expat quips the end is near, well sort of:
  

  'Tuk-tuks provide a form of service for which there is no substitute; it is one of the reasons I enjoy life in Laos, ...'
  

  How come in Cambodia the above practices are commonplace but authorities do not give a hoot?



• From The Mirror a couple of older articles: Survival Priorities for Road Traffic. An editorial. On the (lack of?) of implemention of the new traffic law. It also provides the author with the opportunity to mention:

  'I use a motorcycle-taxi – a “moto” - every day on Street 51. The moto driver and I were almost killed, when a big dark Landcruiser without license plates, but with a driver in uniform, almost knocked us over, high speed, disregarding the STOP sign on a road crossing Street 51 from where he came'.

  A daily occurence. He then adds:

  'Road traffic in Phnom Penh is chaotic. And dangerous'.

  He (or is it a she?) then comes with the same suggestions placed elders on this site.
  Then from a couple days prior to this:
  

  'In Three Days, 9 People Died and 17 Were Injured in Traffic Accidents in Phnom Penh'

  Again it refers to the new traffic law. And the author's observations:

  ' ... and what I have observed myself:

  1. New luxury cars without license plates - if they create an accident and they speed away, nobody can identify them – pass regularly in front of the traffic police without being intercepted, while several police talk down on people – judging from their clothes probably people from the countryside or young women – who came on small motorbikes.
  2. Government vehicles are supposed to be used for official duty; will traffic police be able to stop and report a big Landcruiser with a military number plate on a weekend, in which half a dozen beautifully dressed young ladies are being transported somewhere?'

  Gone shopping probably.

  'Nowadays, police may be afraid to report a “powerful vehicle” belonging to a “powerful institution.” Without a change in this power game, it is difficult to see how the necessary improvement of road traffic in Cambodia can be achieved, and how it will work.'

Cambodia, ahead of the times

In spite of the many Crossing Cambodia postings, shall we say deploring the traffic situation in Cambodia, could it just possibly be that in fact Cambodia is setting a new trend and from becoming a laggard in aspects of enforcing traffic rules (let alone in enforcing the traffic law) to becoming a trendsetter?

German magazine 'der Spiegel' in it's English language section published an article last November under the header of

'Controlled Chaos. European Cities do away with Traffic Signs'.

The Europeans are (they think) wading into unchartered territories:

'We reject every form of legislation ...'

This revolutionary idea is brought up in the first paragraph. But little do the Europeans know that the idea already exists, in ... Cambodia.

'European traffic planners are dreaming of streets free of rules and directives'.

No need to dream, come to Cambodia! But:

'They [European traffic planners] want drivers and pedestrians to interact in a free and humane way, as brethren -- by means of friendly gestures, nods of the head and eye contact, without the harassment of prohibitions, restrictions and warning signs'.

This is where reality kicks in; bye, bye dream. Can Cambodians' interaction in road traffic be called 'humane'? How many friendly gestures, nods and eye contact do you get?
But what is meant by controlled chaos in reality?

'Stop signs and direction signs are nowhere to be seen. There are neither parking meters nor stopping restrictions. There aren't even any lines painted on the streets'.

Same, same! Now the amateur psychologist:

"The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior," says Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman, one of the project's co-founders. "The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles."

Um..., has Hans ever been in Cambodia? Is traffic in Cambodia 'socially responsible'?
Should we now not stop improving the traffic flow via law (enforcement)? Because if the social responsibility will 'dwindle', what's next?But let's let the author explain further:

'Psychologists have long revealed the senselessness of such [German traffic sign postings] exaggerated regulation. About 70 percent of traffic signs are ignored by drivers. What's more, the glut of prohibitions is tantamount to treating the driver like a child and it also forments resentment. He may stop in front of the crosswalk, but that only makes him feel justified in preventing pedestrians from crossing the street on every other occasion. Every traffic light baits him with the promise of making it over the crossing while the light is still yellow'.

Interesting. So, if you put up a sign you are actually teasing the traffic user. Com'on, I dare you to take a u-turn! In Germany there might be good law enforcement meaning that everybody complies, but in Cambodia putting up a signboard literally means an invitation to go up the wrong way on a 1-way street. That's why. Now Crossing Cambodia undertstands!
But this being Germany there must be someone willing to uphold humanity's faith in the German ideals:

'They [guru Hans and his followers] demand streets like those during the Middle Ages, when horse-drawn chariots, handcarts and people scurried about in a completely unregulated fashion. ...
If clear directives are abandoned, domestic rush-hour will turn into an Oriental-style bazaar, he [Michael Schreckenberg of Duisburg University] warns'.

It may sound like chaos, it may resemble the Middle Ages, let's call it Cambodia? And what's wrong with Oriental-style bazaar's? We at Crossing Cambodia luv' them!

Well, the Americans, ever trying to be hip were on to this earlier. At least according to Wired magazine: Roads gone wild!

Here Hans Monderman is no traffic guru, but a traffic engineer. The article dates December 2004, so maybe he became a guru in the two years.

'Monderman and I [the author] stand in silence by the side of the road a few minutes, watching the stream of motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians make their way through the circle, a giant concrete mixing bowl of transport. Somehow it all works'.

Yes, it does work, why not? But on West Palm Beach, USA, the article looks at :

The old ways of traffic engineering - build it bigger, wider, faster - aren't going to disappear overnight.

But, but that's exactly what the Cambodia government is striving for. Can they be wrong? We'll find out, somewhere down the track, 10, 20 years?

Now Wired gives the exact recipe:

How to Build a Better Intersection: Chaos = Cooperation

1. Remove signs: The architecture of the road - not signs and signals - dictates traffic flow.

2. Install art: The height of the fountain indicates how congested the intersection is.

Does an Independence Monument count? An age old fake bridge on Norodom? An ancient temple complex?

3. Share the spotlight: Lights illuminate not only the roadbed, but also the pedestrian areas.

No can do, we need the electricity to illuminate the tv and crank the karaoke machine. Bad idea.

4. Do it in the road: Cafe's extend to the edge of the street, further emphasizing the idea of shared space.

In Cambodia everybody does it on the road, ... oh not that. But extending to the edge of street, yes, beyond the edge, yes, and if you don't have the space for a party, simply annex the street.

5. See eye to eye: Right-of-way is negotiated by human interaction, rather than commonly ignored signs.

A big no-no, you see eye to eye, you lose. No in Cambodia we get by, by ignoring all the rest of us.

6. Eliminate curbs: Instead of a raised curb, sidewalks are denoted by texture and color.

What about eliminating streets? Or eliminating sidewalks all together? There's no merit in them.

Well, what an interesting article(s); so is Cambodia really ahead of time? Are traffic signs useful? Is law enforcement needed?

Tales of Asia: a 'readers' submission

Today's travel advisory referred to the Tales of Asia site. Besides advice there are also readers submissions. 'Butch' recently (3 March 2007) has written a few words on 'Driving in Cambodia'. Take it away Butch:

'Unless you have spent time in a state mental institution or indulged in hallucinogenic drugs there little to prepare you for the rolling catastrophe which is Cambodian traffic. I spent four years as a London motorcycle courier, which I thought was a fairly bonkers occupation but I felt like a boy scout in Baghdad on my first days biking in Phnom Penh. In London drivers are aggressive and impatient, but predictable. In Cambodia drivers are seldom aggressive, occasionally impatient but completely unpredictable'.

End of first alinea: Cambodian drivers are 'unpredictable'. Cambodian traffic is a 'rolling catastrophe'. Will jot that down for the final evaluation. Let's read on:

'Basic road rules: Driving on the right is the norm, unless you want to drive on the left in which case that's fine too. Priority is in order of size, big smoke-belching lorries do what they want and everyone else gets out of their way, then in descending order: 4x4s, minibuses, pickup trucks, Toyota Camry (Cambodian national car) then motorbike and trailer combinations, Honda Dreams (national motorbike), ox carts and lastly cyclists pedestrians dogs and chickens.

Exceptions to this rule are: Large Mercedes or Hummers with fancy wheels and blacked out windows, their drivers are always heavily armed and so have extra priority. Convoys of Mercs, Hummers, Land Cruisers etc with flashing lights get extra double priority as they will be taking the prime minister's wife shopping and this is vital to the economy. Cyclo taxis are given way too because people feel sorry for a six stone pensioner pedalling a half-ton tricycle. Monks; easy to spot because of their bright, saffron coloured robes and therefore easy to avoid. It is seriously bad karma to run over a monk, so they have extra triple priority.

Cattle: Locals have allowed their cows to range freely for centuries, safe in the knowledge that they will return home at dusk, building a main road through their territory will not alter the cows' daily routine one jot. Small herds wander down the busiest of highways stopping to graze on the verges and sometimes lay down for a nap in the centre of the road. Killing a cow is not as bad as killing a monk, but it will be expensive and can damage your motorcycle.

Safety: This being a Buddhist country, everything is down to fate and luck so making an offering at a shrine is considered more useful than checking if the tyres contain any air. Wearing a helmet or seat belt shows you are a non-believer and also marks you out as a bit of a sissy.

Junctions and traffic lights: Stopping at a junction will cause an accident, no one ever stops, so don’t, or everyone else will crash into the back of you. Ditto pulling out onto a main road, stopping to look out for oncoming traffic is also seen as a sign of weakness / sissydom / lack of faith. Traffic lights are used solely for paying police wages. Cops will exact fines for ignoring traffic lights and anything else that takes their fancy such as wearing an offensive shirt or not washing behind your ears.

Overloaded vehicles: Except for the aforementioned Hummers and Mercs which need space for assault rifles, bags of cash etc. Cambodian vehicles are always chronically overloaded. Families of five or more squash onto a moped, taxis carry at least six persons in town and around nine on a long journey. Minibuses load up with cargo and small motorbikes then fill the remaining space with passengers, once the van is full a further ten or so climb on the roof. These vans have poor brakes but loud horns and the screaming passengers on the roof will usually alert you to their presence.

Gasoline couriers: These deserve a special mention, filling stations in Cambodia range from the modern forecourt style to little roadside stalls selling petrol in old pop bottles. Supplying these outlets are small motorbikes carrying five or more plastic jerrycans, all lashed to the seat with string.
Riding an incendiary bomb does not make these riders any more careful, and so ranks them in the world’s most dangerous jobs, right up there with Alaskan crab fisherman and Harold Shipman's cleaning lady.

Night driving: All of the above apply except that around a quarter of all vehicles do not have lights and there is no actual offense of drunk driving. Enjoy your trip!'

Yes, traffic in Cambodia is essentially a bag of fun! Unless of course you have an unfortunate accident and run into the police. Other than that, no worries. Tah, Bruce.

Advisory sites: Tales of Asia

The Tales of Asia site is a long running site concerning 'No nonsense information on travel and living in Cambodia'. End of quote. It's a collection of stories starting from around the turn of the century focusing mainly on incoming tourists particularly in Siem Reap. There used to be a forum but that is now defunct.

Under 'FAQ (and not so FAQ) Transportation' section they carry the following (hopefully this is a not so FAQ): If I'm involved in an accident, what could happen?

The answer is partly as follows:

... Anyway, what happens at an accident scene is first, every Khmer for miles comes around to watch what's going on. If you're injured they will try to help. This is unfortunate as help usually means picking up the unconscious victim and shaking him or her in an effort to revive them. I don't even want to think about how many accident victims were further injured by this practice, but regrettably, as the average Khmer knows nothing of proper medical procedures, shaking the unconscious person seems like the right thing to do.

...

Other questions asked (and answered are : how is the train service? A.: Cheap, painfully slow, uncomfortable, scenic, friendly, limited, ...)

More in this vein. Another of the FAQ sections relates to : Legalities: visas, police, corruption:

Q: What if I'm riding a motorcycle (or driving a car) and the police stop me?

A: If you drive in Cambodia - car or motorcycle, sooner or later, probably sooner, you're going to be stopped by the police for some infraction which you may or may not have committed.

If you can avoid running over the police officer and there's no one sitting on a motorbike that's as big or bigger than yours and ready to give chase, then there's no reason to stop for the police. However, if you do have to stop, it works like this:

In Cambodia you do not hand over your license, registration, and insurance proof because hardly anybody has all three let alone even one. But the very first thing you do is remove the keys from the ignition and put them in your pocket. If you don't, the police might do it themselves and you do not want to be in this situation. What you then find out is what your infraction is and then see what amount of money is requested. As a foreigner the initial request is usually somewhere between $5 and $20. $5 is silly, $20 is simply hilarious and if you are moronic enough to pay $20, well, you deserved it, then.Traffic infractions in Cambodia cost from between 2000 and 5000 riels (that's 50 cents to a $1.25). There is absolutely no reason whatsoever you should ever pay more than this.

In most cases, you stand around with the police for a few minutes chatting and smoking cigarettes. In a majority of instances, the whole affair is very friendly and there is no reason for you to become indignant. This is a game not a duel.

...

But receipt or no receipt, the most important things to remember are:

1.)Immediately remove the keys from the ignition and put them in your pocket.
2.) Be friendly.
3.) Pay no more than 5000 riels.

Good advice? At least it's clear. Drive carefully and avoid police seems to be the best way around traffic in Cambodia, pretty similar elsewhere in the wild world?

Sound Bites ?

On Sunday a ceremony was conducted to mark UN's World day of Remembrance for traffic accident victims. Again it was used to highlight the increasing number of traffic deaths in Cambodia. An article in today's Cambodian Daily (November 20, 2006) quotes the director of the Phnom Penh municipal Red Cross office (Chhoeng Ngan):

'The high death rate [should it not be the increasing death rate, high implies some kind of comparison, CC] is due to the fact that many Cambodian motorists are unfamiliar with or disobey traffic regulations'.

True as may be, in most countries governments protect traffic participants from each other and/or from themselves by drafting laws and making sure the law is enforced. Just yesterday I witnessed a car crashing into a motorbike on street 51, where the car should have stopped (there was a big stop sign). Why can the current feeble attempts at regulating traffic not be enforced?

On a postive note the same periodical mentioned that a senior provincial police officer arrested his son who was accused of shooting a student in class. This in spite of a sudden lack of witnesses....

Link

Getting a head start: quiet revolution?

Phnom Penh authorities are getting a head start on the traffic law by issuing a decree whereby as of November 2006 motorists (=drivers of motorcycles):

• 'must use lights and wing mirrors'.
  
• 'have until the end of the month to comply of face unspecified means of "correction".

This according to a cited article of dpa on the KI site, the DaS site also delves into this decree. As many motorists currently ride without lighting and have no mirrors at all, this suggests a quiet revolution. Something similar (all motorists needing to posess mirrors) was introduced in the Lao PDR, two years ago. As the Lao are more law abiding citizens and the authorities more law enforcing enclined, this resulted in an acute shortage of mirrors, resulting in higher prices and motorists installing not so wide car-mirrors which somehow met the requirement but could not be used. No destinct difference occured in the driving style ...
Anyway the same seems to be happening in Phnom Penh, prices for mirrors have doubled,

'though there was little sign that the decree was yet being taken seriously as almost no mirrors were in evidence on the motorbikes weaving through Phnom Penh's chaotic traffic'.

Why are there no mirrors installed on motorcycles? In Laos this was due to a forward looking mentality and it was believed that mirrors could reveal ghosts. Feng shui? Here in Cambodia:

'mirrors are often seen as something that real men don't use. "Most drivers with mirrors are women. Women use them to touch up make-up," one skeptical officer, whose own private bike does not sport mirrors, said'.

The Details are Sketchy site concludes:

'Clearly, something should be done to get a handle on Phnom Penh’s anarchic traffic. But requiring wing mirrors and indicator lights seems about as likely to work as, say, requiring drivers to have a working speedometer. Which is to say, not one bit. Because the real problem is not a lack of wing mirrors — or indicator lights, for that matter — it’s that people have nothing but contempt for traffic laws and the police officers that occasionally try to enforce them'.

Well said. From a population which even disregards traffic lights backed up with traffic police directed instructions not much can be expected. How about focussing on enforcing current regulations?