Important traffic jams after Pchum Ben

Cambodge Soir

03-10-2008

The lack of discipline reached a level never ever seen before in the history of Cambodia. Wednesday 30 September, the end of the holidays proved to be a nightmare for thousands of automobile drivers on the roads of the Kingdom.

Each year the end of the Festival of the Death goes parallel with a spectacular increase of road traffic. Traffic jams are omnipresent along the main roads of the Kingdom and accidents are numerous. The return from holidays has never been as difficult as this year. As an example: the trip between Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, which usually takes 4 and a half hours, was done in 9 or 10 hours on Wednesday.

While the number of vehicles forced the drivers to slow down, it’s at the Japanese bridge that the traffic jam started. Some cunning drivers, wanting to arrive faster and considering themselves above the law, tried to overtake the slow moving queue. As this happened in both directions, the cars stood facing each other over three lanes. Under these conditions it was impossible to do anything about it. The traffic jam extended over approximately thirty kilometers, creating good sales opportunities for the hawkers along the road. At times, there was a festive atmosphere. Many travelers remained patient, car doors open, music blaring and with improvised picnics. Some decided to leave the bus or taxi in order to find a moto-taxi, often in vain. Navy, 19 years old, missed her appointment with friends. “I took the first bus in order to arrive early and we got stuck from 12pm onwards. We were only able to pass at 6pm, even then very slowly”, she explained.

The situation got under control around 10pm, thanks to the intervention of the police and the help of the national gendarmerie.

The situation wasn’t better on the other side of town, at the Vietnamese bridge. People coming back from Bavet or Neak Lung were stuck in similar traffic jams, caused by the same selfish attitudes.

A policeman didn’t hide his anger: “If everybody was respecting the rules and stayed in line, traffic would slow down but wouldn’t come to a total halt. Everybody wants to be first with the result that everybody gets stuck. These are bad habits which will never change”.