This week, Cambodian government officials are visiting Vietnam and Singapore to discuss best practices in road safety. Coordinated by the Asia Injury Prevention (AIP) Foundation, the enforcement tour is part of the USAID-DIV-funded “Head Safe. Helmet On.” project in Cambodia. Delegates will discuss and share experiences on helmet legislation, successes, challenges, and lessons learned in relation to traffic law enforcement and education in order to more effectively enforce the Cambodian Road Traffic Law, recently approved by the National Assembly on December 5, 2014.

Cambodian officials on the study tour consist of delegates from Cambodia’s General Commissariat of National Police and the General Secretariat of the National Road Safety Committee (NRSC), including Brigadier General Ty Long, Deputy Director of Order Department, Major They Visal, Chief of Office of Procedure of Order Department, and Mr. Prum Vantha, representative of the General Secretariat of the NRSC.

Delegates are meeting with Ho Chi Minh City’s Traffic Safety Committee, Department of Education and Training, and Faculty of Traffic Police, as well as the Singapore Road Safety Council and Singapore Traffic Police. Delegates will exchange experiences with increasing and enforcing passenger helmet use as well effective helmet use education methods.

On December 5, 2014, the National Assembly of Cambodia approved the Road Traffic Law, which requires motorcycle passengers—including children—to wear helmets, and it is expected to be enacted in 2015. “An effective law enforcement would be imperative to help curtail the low helmet wearing rate among passengers—currently 9%—within the country,” said Brigadier General Ty Long, Deputy Director of Order Department. This week’s study tour is supporting the capacity-building of law enforcers in Cambodia in order to effectively enforce the new law.