Road accidents—currently killing on the scale of malaria—will continue to rob more families of their loved ones and their livelihoods, as the number of those killed doubles to over two million per year in 2030. This was the message that launched the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020 this year.
Nepal has alarming statistics on road accidents. In the period between 2009 and 2010, the country witnessed 1,734 deaths. But these tragic deaths continue to be a neglected epidemic in Nepal.
The recent incident of a speeding bus in western Nepal killing at least 15 people was attributed to poor vehicle maintenance and potholed roads. A few months ago, four people, including two women, were killed when a jeep fell into a gorge in Nepal’s western Doti district. Although the cause of the second accident is still unknown, it could well be the same: speeding, poor maintenance and dismal road condition.
According to the World Health Organization, speeding is the single most common traffic rule violation committed by drivers and contributes to up to one-third of all road traffic crashes. Inexperienced young adults driving with blood alcohol concentration levels above 0.05g/dl have a 2.5 times higher risk of a crash compared with older, more experienced drivers.
Pedestrians, cyclists and riders of motorized two-wheelers remain the most vulnerable road users. The death of noted biologist and devoted cyclist Pralad Yonzon, after a collision with a truck on Ring Road, once again painfully reminded us of the scant attention given to road safety.
Looking at a bigger picture, road accidents block economic and social development. The estimated cost of road accidents in the developing world is now US $100 billion a year, exceeding the total annual amount received in development assistance. These costs are especially damaging for countries struggling with problems related to underdevelopment.
Casualties affect mostly economically active persons and have a ripple effect on their dependents, causing suffering and poverty. For each road traffic injury death, there are dozens of survivors who are left with short-term or permanent disabilities that may result in continued restrictions on their physical functioning, psychosocial consequences or reduced quality of life.Road accidents impoverish the country in terms of loss of vital human resources and increased health costs.
Road survivors absorb massive financial burdens and they tend to stay in the hospital longer than average patients. Injured people often suffer physical pain and emotional anguish that is beyond any economic compensation. Permanent disability, such as paraplegia, quadriplegia, loss of eyesight, or brain damage, can deprive an individual of the ability to achieve even minor goals and result in dependence on others for economic support and routine physical care.
Many of those killed or injured are breadwinners of their families, leaving behind a traumatic orphaned family which will struggle to pick up the pieces of their lives. The victim families often face heartbreaking choices, for instance between putting the food on the table and sending their children school.
Road safety laws in Nepal are clearly inadequate. Even as many new roads have been constructed, the police, whose strength has not been proportionately increased, is constantly challenged in its multifarious task: of combating speeding and drunk driving, checking on the use of motorcycle helmets and seatbelts and reprimanding traffic violators, among others.
Aside from the newly completed Kathmandu-Bhaktapur section of Arniko Highway, there is no separate lane for motorcycles on any of the roads in the country. (This section of Arniko Highway has four lanes for vehicles and two lanes for motorcycle separated by road paint and two service tracks.)
Improving road safety means better understanding of the related issues. Weak law-enforcement, inadequate vehicle inspection facilities and irresponsible behavior of drivers and road users are among the major reasons restricting road safety initiatives in Nepal.
Public buses in Nepal are generally overloaded with passengers and goods. The low fares charged by these forms of transport are affordable to poor people. The vehicles are also convenient, as they will stop anywhere to pick up or drop off passengers, and they do not adhere to any fixed time schedules. Against these advantages for poorer people in terms of mobility, there is a marked lack of safety. The drivers speed, are aggressive in their road behavior and lack respect for other road users. The long hours that drivers are forced to work result in fatigue, sleep deprivation and reckless driving.
All the same, a strategy must be found to regulate this industry and make public transport safer and more organized. Such a strategy must address the safety of road users, the labor rights of drivers and the economic interests of the vehicle owners.
Policymakers should recognize effective measures that are designed to force compliance and influence a change in behavior. Road safety audit has been mandatory in Nepal since 1995, but this has not had a significant impact on vital problems like traffic management at road junctions and intersections, and violation of traffic signs.
More knowledge of the vulnerable groups and designing a road safety strategy are two important concerns. Older people are overrepresented in traffic fatalities, especially as vulnerable road users. Older pedestrians in particular are associated with a very high rate of road injury and death. This is mainly due to the increased physical frailty of the elderly. In similar accidents, an older person is more likely to be injured or killed than a younger one.
The growth in the number of motor vehicles in Nepal is central, not only to road safety, but also to other issues such as pollution, the quality of life in urban and rural areas, the depletion of natural resources, and social justice. Thus, road accidents in Nepal are growing both in absolute numbers and in relative terms. It is a serious public health and development issue, taxing health care systems and undermining their ability to devote limited resources to other important areas.
The impacts of road accidents are substantial. According to the World Health Organization, they cost governments, on average, between 1-2 percent of their gross national product. The social costs—more difficult to quantify—exact a heavy toll on victims, their families, friends and communities. As motorization increases, many low- and middle-income countries are witnessing a growing number of road accidents, with potentially devastating consequences in all realms—human, social and economic.
Lack of proper planning, irresponsible management and lax regulations like at the heart of traffic injuries, which are now the 11th leading cause of death and the ninth leading cause of disability worldwide. Without new or improved interventions, road traffic injuries will be the third leading cause of death by the year 2020.
Accurate data are essential for prioritization of public health issues, monitoring trends and assessing intervention programs. Nepal has inadequate information on road accidents, making it difficult to grasp the real scale of the problem and thus to get the required attention of the policymakers and decision-makers.
Nepal’s government should thus foster stronger collaboration between different groups that keep data on road accidents. With such collaboration and the resulting improvement in data management, significant reductions can be achieved in terms of injuries and fatalities.
Roadways in Nepal should fulfill their intended role—of improving lives and reducing poverty. Every rupee spent on road safety equates to lives saved, jobs maintained, secured families and lessened fiscal burden on the government.
The author is a freelance international news stringer and an active member of the Clean Air Network Nepal
chincabrido@gmail.com
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