Prioritise Road Safety

It is a matter of concern that vehicular accidents have become a common phenomenon in Nepal despite some efforts being made to address this problem. The nation has witnessed a startling increase in the number of road accidents resulting in thousands of deaths and injuries annually. In 2021/22 alone, as many as 2,883 persons lost their lives while a total of 7,282 others were severely injured in well over 24,525 vehicular accidents recorded nationwide. According to the Nepal Police Mirror 2022 that was unveiled on October 17, more than 25,720 persons were wounded in the accidents. The report indicates that carelessness on the part of drivers (21,675) was the main factor leading to mishaps followed by passengers’ inattention (1,031), bad condition of roads (1,014) and mechanical malfunction (635), among others. Over-speeding and overloading of passengers are also responsible for frequent road accidents. It is remarkable that two-wheelers have topped the list of accidents. During the last fiscal year, altogether 19,974 two-wheeler riders, 5,975 four-wheelers, 2,786 buses and 2,476 trucks met with mishaps. This speaks volumes about the nation’s weak road safety scenario. 

Another matter of grave concern is that the country has seen a rise in the number of accidents and fatalities over the years. The Nepal Police report discloses that over 2,510 people were killed in road accidents while 6,453 persons were injured seriously in 2020/21. On top of that, 18,618 individuals suffered minor injuries. However, the numbers were fewer in 2019/20, with 2,251 persons dead, 4,315 seriously wounded and 11,219 sustaining non-life threatening injuries. Traffic police officials say that most accidents are found to have taken place from noon to 6 pm. As an effort to reduce the number of such accidents, the Nepal Police alone conducted 32,285 public awareness programmes in 2021/22. Many of them were related to traffic rules and precautions. Besides, the traffic police offices located across the nation have also expedited surveillance against those violating traffic rules. The traffic police collected Rs. 1,418,926,500 just in 2021/22 by issuing 1,941,758 traffic violation tickets.

The Nepal Police was able to collect Rs. 27,572,000 from 27,501 individuals for drunk driving over the last fiscal year. It also fined 10,463 persons for using mobile phone while driving and 45,025 for not wearing seatbelt. Similarly, 309,079 vehicles were penalised for overloading, 26,359 for over-speeding, 10,909 for carrying passengers on the roof, 5,532 for overtaking and 5,773 for violating lane discipline. It is notable that the anti-drunk driving campaign launched by the traffic police a couple of years ago was very effective in controlling the number of road mishaps. The campaign, however, was relaxed together with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Considering the success of that initiative in reducing the number of road mishaps, the traffic police now needs to implement this in a more rigorous manner.   

As suggested by the Nepal Police, it is necessary to revise multi-modal road safety laws, policies and procedures in order to minimise the number of road accidents. Building safer roads, encouraging people to use safer vehicles and raising road safety awareness among drivers, helpers, vehicle owners, passengers and other stakeholders are equally essential for minimising road accidents. In addition, the traffic police must be entrusted with required authority to help make road travel safer. It is argued that faulty process of issuing driving licenses may also be responsible for an increase in the number of road accidents. The responsible authorities must pay due attention to this matter to make sure that only those well-trained and qualified are permitted to drive auto vehicles.