There were 148 reported traffic accidents nationwide during the Khmer New Year holiday this year, resulting in 67 fatalities and 303 injuries, a drop in accidents and injuries but an increase in deaths compared to the holiday period last year, according to a Ministry of Interior official.
Police tracked accidents from April 13 through 17, the three days of Khmer New Year as well as the day before and after the holiday, which are the most popular days for travel.
Last year, there were 165 accidents resulting in 48 deaths and 344 injuries. Speeding caused the most accidents this year—47 percent—while drunken driving accounted for 20 percent, according to Him Yan, director of the department of public order at the Ministry of Interior.
He added that 14 percent of accidents happened because one of the vehicles was attempting to overtake the other, Mr. Yan said.
Traffic coming into Phnom Penh was heavy in several places on Wednesday, as an estimated 1 million people began returning from the provinces.
Some people waited for hours to board a ferry across the Mekong River at Neak Leung town that connects Svay Rieng province to Kandal province, said Seng Ponlork, police chief of Peamro district in Svay Rieng.
“There were traffic jams from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. People could move but traffic was backed up for more than a kilometer. There will be even heavier traffic jams tomorrow,” he said.
