Eight out of 10 Cambodian coach drivers high on meth, says police [Test positve -- Let's look at the bright side: at least it's not 10 out of 10, murmurs Our Dear Leader]]

Eight out of 10 Cambodian coach drivers high on meth, says police

The Telegraph | 12 September 2016

Road-side drug testing by Cambodian police has uncovered that eight in 10 night time coach drivers in the country’s Battambang province were high on methamphetamine.

Checkpoints were set up in the area in the north west of the country in response to a spike in deaths caused by road traffic accidents this summer. Since the beginning of August nearly 30 people died on the region's roads, a sharp increase on the 32 that died in the first seven months of the year.

After coaches and trucks were stopped and drivers told to take urine tests, officials found traces of drugs in 80 per cent of samples, with “yaba” or "yama" – a pill that contains both methamphetamine and caffeine – the main culprit, according to Cambodia Daily.

Yaba often comes as a small, red pill CREDIT: GETTY

Deputy provincial police chief Chet Vanny told the newspaper that the majority of those tested were behind the wheel of “commercial buses or trucks”.

“When they use drugs before driving, they drive very fast and cause accidents,” he said.

Mr Vanny said that drivers that tested positive for drugs were warned of the dangers of driving while under the influence and “sent on their way”.

does south east asia have a safety problem

Drivers were required to thumbprint a statement agreeing not to use drugs while driving again.

Battambang is a popular tourist destination. After visiting for Telegraph Travel in 2012, Christopher Hudson wrote: “It is a sleepy place, its wide, tree-shaded streets near the river lined with French colonial architecture.”

It is only three hours drive from Siem Reap and the temple complexes of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom.

Methamphetamine, one of the ingredients of yaba CREDIT: ALAMY

It is by no means the first time concerns over safety on Cambodia’s roads has arisen. The Foreign Office warns that the country has “one of the highest rates of road traffic accidents in the region”.

“There are high numbers of fatalities and serious injuries. Many accidents are due to poor vehicle and driver safety standards,” it said. “Travel after dark significantly increases the risk of accidents.”

Other countries in the region are also known for high rates of traffic accidents, including Thailand, where the World Health Organisation says there were 14,059 deaths in 2012.

Thailand reasons to visit

The drug yaba is well known in south-east Asia, with Myanmar hailed as the largest producer of methamphetamine in the world and the drug particularly popular in neighbouring Thailand.

In August Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya suggested that the drug could be decriminalised to allow addicts to come forward for support.