Traffic accidents on the Phnom Penh-Sihanoukville Expressway during the first three months of this year are happening most frequently between luxury vehicles. Most accidents are caused due to careless driving. Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) spokesman Heang Sotheayuth said yesterday that 55 accidents happened. Three people were killed in the accidents recorded since the beginning of January until yesterday. All the accidents involving fatalities involved cars speeding over the limit and crashing off the road. Sotheayuth added that MPWT has observed some drivers still fail to obey traffic laws as they drive over the speed limit, use the wrong lane or drive against traffic. The drivers also failed to understand the rules of the road and were ignorant of the expressway layout and driving conditions. Some vehicles were poorly maintained and were not inspected properly before being driven. MPWT said all these factors regularly lead to serious traffic accidents. “For example, some luxury cars caught fire due to poor inspection and maintenance,” Sotheayuth said. He noted that Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol and other traffic experts plan a visit to the expressway on April 7 to help educate road users about safety factors and measures to prevent traffic accidents. Meanwhile, Brigadier General Vann Havary, deputy director of Department of Traffic Police and Public Order, who is in charge of monitoring traffic order on the expressway, said yesterday that the three men who died in traffic accidents this year involved two Chinese nationals and one Cambodian citizen. “The two Chinese men died in a car crash and the Cambodian man drove off the road into the rice field. “The luxury vehicles that caught fire while driving, and fast driving caused them to overheat and burst into flames,” Brig Gen Havary said.Ny Saroeun, 45, said he uses the expressway five or six times a month because he has businesses in Koh Kong and Preah Sihanouk province. “The expressway is very good for me as it saves me much time reaching Koh Kong or Preah Sihanouk from Phnom Penh. I drive for only about two hours between cities,” said Saroeun. “I cannot drive too fast at night because of the oncoming headlights. It is blinding for my eyes,” he said. “Obeying traffic signs, driving within the speed limit, and concentrating on our driving is my basic rule when using the expressway. It makes me feel safe every time,”