Cambodia - December 9, 2015

A new traffic law is set to come into force in the New Year—starting on January 1st, traffic police will start to collect fines for passengers, in addition to drivers, that are caught not wearing a helmet. Across Cambodian televisions, spirits will appear to remind Cambodians to always wear their helmets in a commercial by AIP Foundation. These spirits are victims of road crash head injuries; they are not meant to scare but instead to protect the public. The spirits stop a family to tell them that failing to wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle threatens their lives. The commercial reminds Cambodians to wear a helmet, whether they’re the driver or a passenger, no matter the distance along with spreading the news that “From 1st January 2016, police will fine 15,000 riels for each non-helmeted person.” The fine has increased five-fold compared to the previous fine of 3,000 riels for drivers violating the helmet law.

The commercial is part of a campaign supporting the dissemination and implementation of the new Road Traffic Law. The campaign incorporates media-, street-, and community-based approaches to improve helmet safety in Cambodia. The campaign is part of AIP Foundation’s “Head Safe. Helmet On.” (HSHO), which is a two-year project supported by the United States Agency for International Development, Development Innovation Ventures (USAID-DIV), and others, aimed to increase passenger helmet use in Cambodia.