Cambodia: Real men use wing mirrors

Phnom Penh (dpa) - Cambodian authorities in the capital have issued a decree warning the city's half million-plus motorcyclists that they must use lights and wing mirrors in an effort to curb Phnom Penh's growing road toll.

In a copy of the proclamation obtained from Phnom Penh City Hall Monday, authorities have told the city's infamously anarchic motorists that they have until the end of the month to comply of face unspecified means of "correction."

Cambodia has virtually no manufacturing base, meaning all vehicles are imported, and mirrors were long since abandoned by most motorcyclists as they are difficult to transport from overseas and once fitted make squeezing through small spaces in traffic more difficult.

Mirrors are sold separately as accessories, and traffic police monitoring roads around the capital's bustling Daem Kor Market Monday said the concept may be difficult to reintroduce without hefty fines to back it up, because mirrors are often seen as something that real men don't use.

"Most drivers with mirrors are women. Women use them to touch up make-up," one skeptical officer, whose own private bike does not sport mirrors, said.

Working lights at the front and back of the motorbike as well as indicators would also be enforced as part of the new initiative, according to the City Hall proclamation.

Lights are often the first things pawned by cash-strapped drivers of newer-model motorbikes, feeding the capital's thriving spare parts market.

As the city's roads have improved allowing Phnom Penh residents to drive at greater speeds, there are more vehicles driven by the growing middle class and road safety precautions have not kept pace.

As of Monday afternoon, the price of the hitherto unwanted wing mirrors began to skyrocket from less than two dollars apiece to as high as five dollars, as vendors prepared for a rush buying spree by compliant drivers, according to one motorist.

However on the roads, there was little sign that the decree was yet being taken seriously as almost no mirrors were in evidence on the motorbikes weaving through Phnom Penh's chaotic traffic.

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