More vehicles found operating in poor condition

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Mar. 24: The Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office (KVTPO) has intensified checking of vehicles, mostly public ones, to ensure that they are operating in proper condition.

Traffic police have been checking vehicles seeking support from the technical experts of the transport office as the poor vehicle condition has been a leading cause of accidents across the country.

On Thursday, the KVTPO conducted surprise checks of the vehicles at Jagati of Bhaktapur and Kirtipur of Kathmandu. 

After checking more than 130 vehicles in Jagati, the KVTPO found 23 vehicles to be operating with problems in hand-brake, lights and tyres.

Similarly, lights were not working in seven vehicles and hand-brake was not in proper condition in 19 other vehicles when officers checked over 115 vehicles in Kirtipur.

Traffic police officers informed that operating the vehicles of the poor condition increased the risk of accident. “Operating vehicles which are not in proper condition is a serious negligence because public vehicles are boarded by many innocent people,” they said When lights do not work, there can be miscommunication and misjudgement on the road causing mishaps and injuring or killing individuals.

Similarly, many vehicles were found operating with poor tyres that have lost grip after being used for years. 

"People should check their vehicle condition daily to reduce the chances of accidents," said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rajendra Prasad Bhatta, spokesperson for the KVTPO.

Since January, 2023, around 150 vehicles were found operating in poor condition in different parts of the Kathmandu Valley, according to the statements of the KVTPO in their Facebook page.

Traffic Police seize the documents of the drivers and are returned after the owner/drivers pay the fine and show that the vehicles were repaired properly.

According to Nepal Police Mirror 2022,  a total of 635 road accidents were due to poor vehicle condition. 

Nepal Police officers informed that there might be more cases of accidents led by poor vehicle condition because causes of accidents remain unknown when the drivers themselves die in the accidents.