Students overall perceptions about traffic in Cambodia
Students overall perceptions about traffic
Law and regulations
So far, the law and regulations are quite good, but the actual implementation of them is weak and ineffective. It is generally observed that the traffic law and regulations can be enforced only with ordinary people. However, it is often exceptional for those who are powerful, wealthy and have high a status or position in the society and who are also the most active and serious traffic violators. This usually leads people in general to lost trust in traffic law and regulations. Evidently, when there is a traffic accident taking place, if it is possible, both the cause and victim sides prefer dealing with the traffic accident personally to relying on traffic polices to handle the case officially.
Measures
Students perceived that although there are many various measures are being adapted and implemented to combat traffic issues in the current time, but they remain insufficient. Furthermore, their coverage appears small, frequency is still not very often and quality seems low to produce desired impacts of elimination and reduction of traffic jams and accidents.
Awareness
Nearly all students revealed that they have little understand about the good traffic safety and behaviors and are not able to read and comprehend all the traffic signs neither understand all articles in the traffic law. They virtually have no chance to study traffic issues formally elsewhere.
Ethics
Some students admittedly stated that they still have poor ethics when driving or riding their vehicles, especially those who are at high school tend to strongly agreed that they normally take traffic ethics for granted. They always try their best to move forward or get out of a traffic jam in selfish and aggressive behaviors rather than to considerate or allow the others to go first, even though they clearly know their traffic behaviors could leave messy jams behind. In addition to that, when they cause an accident they always find ways to run instead of rescuing victims and solving the accident in ethical manners. Hit and run apparently becomes a norm of some Cambodian and thus, it is unsurprisingly not alien to some students.
Social influences
Students thought that they have been negatively influenced by their surrounding concerning to traffic behaviors and safety. Despite realizing that they can possibly create hazard and terrible traffic, about half of people usually run at red light or in wrong turn, when there is no police or when they feel that they are unlikely to get caught. Sometimes, students follow others unconsciously or are forced by repeatedly annoying sounds of horn and threatening voices of other drivers to joint in violating the traffic law. Moreover, most of their family members and friends have not learned how to drive or ride properly nor the majority of their family members and friends have driver licenses and if they possess a driver license, they get it unofficially like buying or through other corrupted means. As a result, students viewed risky prevalence of violating the traffic law as normal and unavoidable.
