Tens of Thousands of Death and Serious Head Injury Warn Cambodian Motorcycle Users

Story and photos by Chhay Sophal

Phnom Penh (31 December 2015): Thousands of people, including children, may be killed and tens of thousands of others may have serious head injuries by 2020 if motorcycle helmet use is not enforced effectively and consistently.

“If there is strict and effective enforcement of the law mandating safety helmets for motorcycle passengers including children and the number of passengers wearing helmets increases to 80%, at least 561 motorcycle passengers will be saved — both adults and children – and up to 10,574 people will be protected from serious head injury by the year 2020,” said Kim Pagna, Country Director of AIP Foundation​.

Citing research from 2014 done by AIP Foundation, Pagna hinted that these figures do not yet include the number of surviving motorcycle drivers, taking into account the increasing number of motorcycles.

Who can help reduce these rates of head injury, then? Individuals, organizations, or the law?

A high-quality safety helmet at a suitable price can survive a crash and protect an individual from serious head injury, which would likely cause a lifelong disability.

Traffic experts assert that child and adult motorcycle passengers who sit either in front of or behind the driver and never wear safety helmets are faced with risk of serious head injury during road crashes.

The careless act of not wearing a safety helmet while riding a motorbike can cause an individual or a family to lose a loved one. Additionally, the person not wearing a helmet risks becoming permanently disabled, leading to serious remorse.

According to a report from the Cambodia Road Crash and Victim Information System 2014, 73% of road crash fatalities in Cambodia are motorcycle users, which include both child and adult drivers and passengers.

69% of motorcycle fatalities suffered head injuries and most of motorcycle casualties were not wearing a safety helmet at the time of the accident, the report said.

Citing a global study, Pagna told journalists in Preah Sihanoukville province last week that “Properly wearing a good quality safety helmet really helps to reduce the harm of serious head injury by up to 69% and can reduce the risk of death by up to 42%”.

He appealed to outreach more information to the public by all means on the safety of wearing helmets when travel while traffic law enforcement must be strictly, regularly, equally and transparently taken action as well as to encourage private sector to participate in pushing for wearing safety helmets, especially among children and other passengers, while using motorbikes on the roads.

After providing education and raising awareness of the ​traffic law for long time, the number of wearing safety helmets among motorbike passengers, including kids, is just only 15% up to August 2015 in AIP Foundation’s target areas – Phnom Penh, Kandal and kampong Speu provinces – which is still small number; and with such small number, only strict law enforcement can increase the number of wearing safety helmets that is extremely effective in saving human lives while traveling by motorcycles, he added.

Ny Bunthoeun, a 23-year university student in Phnom Penh, and his friend were saved from serious head injuries when they were in a road crash during Khmer traditional Pchum Ben day in October.

Bunthoeun recalled that he sat behind his friend, who was the driver. As they drove, a dog ran across the road, forcing the driver to suddenly break and causing the motorcycle to fall down on the road.

“If my friend and I did not wear our safety helmets, I don’t know how injured our heads would be, and we may have even been killed. Our heads were banged against the road and scratched across the road for many meters. Although our arms and legs were wounded with bloody scratches, our heads did not have serious injury,” he said.

Taking from this experience, Bunthoeun appealed to all citizens who are motorcycle drivers and passengers, both adults and children, to wear safety helmets at all times while travelling by motorcycles, regardless of distance and slow the ride, because road crashes can occur at anytime and anywhere while driving.

Since 2009, authorities have begun strict implementation of the road traffic law, especially enforcement of safety helmet use for motorcycle drivers. With such implementation, the rates of helmet use among drivers has notably increased. However, most motorcycle passengers – both children and adults who sit in front of and behind the drivers – never wear helmets.

Point 8 in article 8 of the new Cambodian Road Traffic Law, officially promulgated in January 2015 states that “A motorcycle can carry 2 people and 1 child. The motorcycle driver and passenger as well as children aged from 3 (three) years old must wear proper safety helmets. All drivers of tri-motorcycles and motorcycles with trailers/remorque must wear safety helmets properly”.

Moreover, if users are not wearing helmets while driving and riding motorcycles, traffic police will fine at least 15,000 riels (about US $3.5). Double that fee is nearly equal to the price of buying a helmet.

Let’s imagine that you are the breadwinner in a family, and get a head injury and become disabled or killed because of lack of helmet on a motorcycle. Imagine your family’s living condition; and even worse, if our loved ones such as children, spouses, parents, siblings, and other relatives have a head injury, we would be seriously remorseful. This tragedy does not even include the negative economic impact on families and society.

           Safety helmets can protect our lives while we – drivers and passengers – are driving and riding on motorcycles at the legal speed.

Major General Ty Long, Deputy Director of the Traffic Police and Public Order Department of the General Commissariat of National Police, said that in order to implement the new road traffic law on January 1, 2016 strictly and effectively, the authorities have 172 teams with 1,750 forces who stand at 166 checkpoints nationwide to fine those who do not follow the road traffic law.

            The General also appealed to all citizens, particularly the motorcycle drivers and passengers, to respect the traffic law by wearing safety helmets while riding motorcycles on the road. The law is strictly implemented and unable to delay any longer, he added.