PHNOM PENH: The Minister of Public Works and Transport, Senior Minister Sun Chanthol, has said that so far, there are more than half a million cars in Cambodia that have not yet been confiscated, even as there are tens of thousands of driver's licenses that have expired without replacement or extension. He made this statement while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Vehicle Technical Inspection Center of Po Sen Chey-Odim Branch on Monday (28 March).

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, Senior Minister Sun Chanthol said that there are currently 490,000 vehicles nationwide that have not yet been inspected yet, calling on the owners of those vehicles to get them inspected regularly and in a timely manner for personal safety and the safety of passengers.

The Senior Minister also said that there are currently seven checkpoints in Phnom Penh and 17 checkpoints in the provinces. At the same time, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport has developed and upgraded the automated vehicle inspection system, a second-generation feature which can connect and retrieve data from vehicle registration and customs systems.

This second-generation vehicle technical inspection system differs from the first-generation, as it has been developed and expanded as a new Web Application. The Senior Minister added that the technical inspection of vehicles is important to ensure safety while traveling on the road, and will contribute to a reduction of traffic accidents.

At the same time, he said that there are tens of thousands of drivers who have expired driving licenses which have not been replaced or extended, so he urges all with expired licenses to quickly go and get them renewed or extended, in order to avoid fines while driving on the road. He said the Ministry of Public Works and Transport has set up service centers in the ministry and in supermarkets for convenience of use, and it will take just 15 minutes to complete the process.

According to a study, there are three major factors that cause traffic accidents: 96% are caused by people, 3.5% caused by vehicular error, and 0.5% caused by roads and bad weather.