Road Safety Milestone

Nepal's transportation sector is beset with numerous problems. While urban transportation is chaotic, long-distance travel is hazardous. Around seven people lose their lives in road accidents daily in the country. The deaths of innocent individuals are largely preventable if effective measures are taken to check reckless and drunk driving, lane discipline breach and impunity. Poor road infrastructure and difficult geography also contribute to rising fatalities, especially in places where road infrastructure is sluggish or shabby. Even in the urban centres with improved roads, road accidents are common due to negligence on the part of both drivers and pedestrians. Road fatalities cause wider negative impacts on society. First and foremost, families lose their loved ones and the loss can never be compensated. The nation is also deprived of able citizens. Its social and economic damage is also consequential. It causes GDP to decline by 1.5-2.0 per cent.

Many people injured in road accidents also breath their last owing to the lack of timely treatment. Those who witness road accidents face a dilemma – whether or not to take the wounded passengers to hospital. This is because of the existing legal provisions. The individuals who rescue the injured are often interrogated to provide the details of the incidents. This is really a nuisance for those kind-hearted persons who try to save the lives of the victims. With a view to ending such a quandary and other problems related to the transportation sector, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport (MoPIT) has prepared a Bill to Amend and Consolidate Laws Relating to Vehicles and Transport, 2025. The bill seeks to annul the three-decade-old Vehicle and Transport Management Act, 1993, and prioritises road safety, humanitarian values, and modern transport management, according to a news report of this daily.

Under Section 50 of the proposed bill, individuals who provide emergency medical or non-medical assistance, or transport victims to a hospital in good faith, will be provided full legal protection. The rescuers are not subjected to any civil or criminal charges in case a victim dies during rescue or transport. In fact, a “good Samaritan” helps the accident victims out of volition and without expecting any reward. In a similar manner, the bill obliges the hospital and health institutions to provide medical treatment to the injured brought even in the absence of his/her relatives or if they are unable to foot the bill. The proposed legal framework seeks to extend the validity of a driving license from five years to ten years so as to minimise unnecessary crowd at transport offices.

It has amended the age requirements for driving licences. The persons aspiring to get a two- or three-wheeler driving licence should be 18 years old, while those willing to secure small and medium four-wheelers should be 21 years, and 23 years of age for heavy vehicles. Persons aged above 65 will not be permitted to drive large or medium public transport vehicles. The bill has stringent provisions against grave road crimes. A driver faces a life sentence if s/he intentionally kills a person using a vehicle. If a person is killed due to reckless or negligent driving, the offender may face three to twelve years of imprisonment and a fine ranging from Rs. 30,000 to Rs. 100,000. The bill has legalised ride-sharing platforms such as Pathao and inDrive but they must be registered, with mandatory insurance for passengers. The bill has envisaged bold reforms in the transportation sector, laying crucial groundwork to enhance safety on the road.