Traffic police officers on the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway will start imposing fines for traffic violations from December 1 onwards as the Ministry of Public Works and Transport said that restrictions on drivers on the highway are to ensure the safety of the drivers and passengers in the roughly 7,000 to 10,000 vehicles using the road each day.
The ministry is reminding drivers that the speed limits on the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway are a minimum speed of 60km/h and a maximum speed of 120km/h for light vehicles.
For heavy vehicles the minimum speed remains 60km/h with a maximum of 100km/h if they are without semi-trailers or motorcycles of 500cc / 27kW and up, while the speed of 60km/h to 80km/h is in effect for vehicles with semi-trailers or trailers.
“If they encounter a speed limit sign, drivers must comply with the sign’s restrictions instead. On curved roads at the side entrances to the expressway drivers are limited to driving only 40km/h before increasing the speed to at least 60km/h. Where there is a need to slow down, there are also rumble strips to alert drivers,” the ministry’s announcement on November 27 said.
Kong Vimean, spokesman for the transport ministry, told The Post that it was up to traffic police officers to monitor and enforce traffic laws on the road and follow the provisions provided.
He said that the restrictions on the highway were to protect the interests of all travellers as there are between 7,000 vehicles per day on weekdays and more than 10,000 on weekends.
“For the enforcement at the beginning of December, we are doing it to comply with the law … We have a maximum and minimum speed limit. Therefore, if they drive over or under the speed limit, they will be penalized by the law. We do this to strengthen the quality of the law and reduce traffic accidents,” he said.
Vimean also said that the ministry’s technical experts are continuing to cooperate with the technical team of the expressway company to find more diverse and convenient solutions to make it easier for travellers who drive on Cambodia’s highways to get where they are going fast and with no hassles.
“It should be implemented as soon as possible to protect the safety of drivers, because the situation seems very dangerous. Some of the pictures that were taken and posted on Facebook and TikTok had drivers going at a very fast speed. Most of them drove at 168km/h and some faster than that when the speed limit is only 120km/h,” he said.
Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol said in late October that about 200 security cameras and 18 traffic police officers have been deployed on the expressway on duty 24 hours a day to monitor and follow the security camera footage in order to intervene immediately.
The Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway began charging tolls for use from November 1 onwards, with the company offering a 20% discount for the first year of travel, with tolls ranging between $12 and $60 per vehicle on the 187.05 km expressway.
