A senior official at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport told The Post on Thursday that only 3,000 of the Kingdom’s more than 20,000 tuk-tuk drivers had so far taken a driving test during a three-month “grace period”, with only a third passing.

On April 9, Minister of Public Works and Transport Sun Chanthol said 98 per cent of all tuk-tuk drivers “didn’t know the traffic laws and did not have a driving licence”, also announcing that the ministry was giving them three months to get one or face fines.

But Chhoun Voun, director of the General Department of Land Transport at the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, told The Post on Thursday that so far only 3,000 drivers had heeded Chanthol’s warning.

“Of more than 3,000 participants, more than 1,000 drivers from the capital and provinces passed the driving test and received a tuk-tuk licence from the Department of Public Works and Transport. Nine hundred and seventy-seven of the more than 1,000 who passed were in Phnom Penh,” Voun said.

He added that the ministry was urging all of its Phnom Penh and provincial departments to add further courses to make it easier for tuk-tuk drivers to take a driving test before the July 9 deadline passed.

Chanthol warned that after that date the traffic law would be strictly enforced and tuk-tuk drivers caught without a licence would face fines.http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/only-1000-cambodias-20000-tuk-tuk-drivers-legal