Across the three days of the Water Festival holiday – which ran from November 26-28 – The National Police’s Traffic Police and Public Order Department reported that 22 people were killed in 37 traffic accidents.

A report stated that on the first day of the festival, eight road traffic accidents killed five people and nine others received injuries, several of them serious.

November 27 saw 11 traffic accidents, leaving three people dead and 18 others injured. 

On the final day of the holiday period, November 28, 18 traffic accidents were recorded. They claimed 14 lives, with 42 others sustaining serious or minor injuries.

According to a National Police report, during the November 7-9 Water Festival period of 2022, 16 deaths were recorded.

The report attributed the crashes to excessive speed, failure to respect the right of way and dangerous overtaking manoeuvres. In addition, some accidents were recorded as the result of people driving while fatigued or under the influence of alcohol. Vehicular factors were also noted as major contributors in some cases.

National Police spokesman Chhay Kim Khoeun could not be reached for comment on November 29. 

Kim Pagna, country director of the Asia Injury Prevention Foundation (AIP), said on November 29 that in general, major holidays saw an increase in road traffic accidents. For example, the three-day Water Festival period saw an increase of over 20 road traffic accidents. 

“Despite our best efforts to push them down, in 2023 these figures are very high. In the post-Covid holiday of 2022, we saw an increase when compared to 2020 and 2021. In 2023, we worked tirelessly to reduce the road toll, but the number of deaths still remains too high,” he added.

He urged the authorities, especially traffic police officers, to continue to strictly implement traffic the enforcement of traffic laws, as well as educating the public. 

He said even though there are no more holidays scheduled, regular law enforcement measures should be in place until year’s end.