If the ride feels unsafe, dial 100 or 103

Kathmandu, July 31:“I was worried what the ride would be like as the cases of accidents have been common. However, the driver of the bus I boarded drove safely. Following traffic rules, he did not overtake unnecessarily, neither did he overspeed,” said Rajan Sigdel, a youth who arrived in Kathmandu Tuesday morning from Lahan by a bus. 

Sitting in the cabin and having a look at how the bus was being driven, Rajan stated that it was one of the ‘safest’ rides he had experienced to date on public transport.

But, not everyone has a pleasant experience while travelling by public vehicles. And if the travel is unpleasant and unsafe, Traffic Police officers recommend passengers to pick up their phone and call either on ‘100’ or ‘103’.

“If the driver appears sleepy, under the influence of alcohol or narcotics, abusive, speeding, overtaking unsafely, and the conductor charging exorbitant fare or not arranging seats for disabled, senior citizens and women, we request the passengers to call at 100 or 103 or take photos/audio recordings/videos and send them to Nepal Police and Traffic Police units’ social media accounts; we will take action at the earliest,” said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Jeevan Kumar Shrestha.

SSP Shrestha, who is also the chief of the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office (KVTPO), strongly suggested passengers board public transport only after noting the number on the number plates.

“Passengers can request the driver to park the vehicle for a moment if s/he seems unfit to drive. If the driver denies the request, call the helpline number and inform about the situation immediately. It will be easy for us to locate and stop the unsafe vehicle if the number is known,” he added.

Nepal Police Headquarters has been urging citizens to be active in lodging complaints against wrongdoings. As per the Headquarters, they are not only responding to queries on helpline numbers but also on social media accounts, Nepal Police mobile application and Hello Sarkar’s social platforms 24/7. The service can be utilised by anyone from any part of the country.

“It does not matter what type of vehicle an individual has boarded, either public, private or rideshare; if the driver/rider is driving unsafely, passengers should lodge a complaint,” said SSP Shrestha.

According to the data provided by KVTPO, negligence on the part of the driver/rider was the most common cause of accidents. In the past three fiscal years, 17,401 road accidents in the Kathmandu Valley were due to negligence on the part of the driver/rider.

Moreover, Traffic Police Mirror 2024 shows that 84,901 cases of road mishaps across Nepal in the past decade were due to negligence on the part of drivers/riders.

The KVTPO has also suggested the public to not use rideshare without registering into the system and following the procedures. 

As per the data, the KVTPO has penalised over 50,000 vehicles used for rideshare under different topics in the past two years. 

“We receive complaints of how the passengers were forced to pay in excess, abused for cancelling rides and left shivering owing to reckless riding. Complaints about vehicles used for rideshare fleeing after hitting pedestrians or other vehicles are also getting common,” said an officer at the KVTPO’s surveillance room. 

Data show that the rate of accidents declined by 16.8 per cent, deaths by six per cent and injuries by three per cent in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23. “We are doing our best to implement traffic rules strictly as it is the best way to prevent accidents. Nevertheless, we need proper support from drivers/riders as well as passengers,” SSP Shrestha told The Rising Nepal.