Traffic Management

As alluded to in the previous post the roads are quite simply chaos theory at work!! Despite this I think we can learn from them.
The roads are so hard to describe as you have to experience it to know what it feels like! (Italy and France have nothing on Cambodia). Most people get around on little motorbikes (called motordops) and bicycles or 4 wheel drives!
No one is quite sure what the traffic laws are in Cambodia - but this does not seem to matter - the main rule seems to be - worry only about what is in front of you, the things behind you will worry about themselves! Cross roads are the most fun (read scary), though there are traffic lights and even a seconds counter telling you the remaining time left on red or green, most people ignore them or at least the last 10 seconds before they change so you are hurtled out in to the junction with traffic coming at you from all sides, the feeling that over a hundred motorbikes are heading straight for you is something I reckon everyone should experience at least once in their lives! and somehow everyone misses each other...


1. Traffic Jams
We rarely encountered a traffic jam but when we did, even then we managed to squeeze our way through, even if it meant taking over the pavement, driving through the forecourt of a petrol station or through someones front lawn - we got through. Bearing in mind about 100 people were doing the same thing in the opposite direction!

2. Car sharing
well that should be bike sharing really - Cambodians have the most amazing sense of balance and it was a common sight to see a family of 6 all seated on a motordop and with their shopping (bags of vegetables, live chickens and sacks of rice), or see someone on their way to market with 10 live pigs strapped to the back, or 25 live ducks hanging from their feet strapped to a plank of wood or people delivering TV's - we saw one bike with 3 men on and 6 TV's stacked up! or people on their way home from hospital holding up their IV drip as they were whizzed through the streets. Women generally sat side saddled with their legs crossed as if they were watching daytime TV, children from the age of 1 were perched in front of the driver. Anything that could be lifted on to a bike was transported by bike! Essential motordop gear is high heels (for the girls!) sun hats, gloves to keep the sun off you and a towel and sunglasses to keep the dust out of your face, no helmets, no leathers, no boots!
To get goods in and out of the city for people the common way is to load up a mini bus with people and goods, they would not leave the market until they were full and by full I mean people on the roof and ladders were used as extension seating out the back of the van - how any of the vans had suspension or could move is actually a mystery to me!
A slightly more dangerous mode of transport was lorries that were transporting a large amount of goods - these were stacked up as high as humanly possible and then people climbed on top for the journey home. On a serious note this is dangerous - as when lorries swerved or braked suddenly their passengers were thrown to the ground and often died.
Cambodia certainly could teach us a thing or two about sharing transport - imagine if we all did this here - how empty our streets would be !

3. Transport for religious leaders
A common (but continually endearing sight) was the monks on the back of motordops. Monks are able to stop any motordop, van, car or bus and ask to be taken to their destination without charge, in exchange for a blessing! Maybe the C of E should consider this for their clergy to cut costs!



Travelling in Cambodia was exciting, life threatening, entertaining, frightening and fun! Having said all this there are real problems with road traffic accidents outside the city where roads are wide enough for one way traffic but often are accommodating traffic travelling 3 abreast on each side! This aside it did make me seriously wonder about the lengths we go to with traffic management and control - maybe we should adopt a bit more chaos theory ...
I have just recieved an email from my father-in-law (Jack) suggesting another Cambodian traffic management idea for the M5 in the avon area - "on Bank Hols and other busy days they allow traffic to travel on the M5 in any direction if there is a space but it would be wise you also mentioned the speed would be reduced to say 25mph while travelling in that Somerset area - but at least the traffic would be moving and it would add a certain interest to the journey"
this really happens in Cambodia!