This being one of several accidents that have occurred in Nepal in recent times, the frequency of these accidents has been raising many questions about road safety in Nepal since long. The Week talked to Tulasi Prasad Sitaula, Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Transport Management to know about the current efforts undertaken by the government regarding the situation of road safety in Nepal. [break]
The number of road accidents in Nepal has risen significantly in recent years. What might be the reasons behind it?
In Nepal, the major reason behind road accidents is the negligence of the drivers. Studies have shown that over 60% of road accidents in Nepal are caused by this very reason. Drivers are found to be over-speeding, especially on the highways. Even in the recent Damauli bus accident, the preliminary investigations shows that the main cause of the accident was due to the driver’s over-speeding.
Another factor that contributes to road accidents is the lack of traffic signals and signs on the road. Again, this is also regarded problematic especially on the highways due to the geographical landscape of the country. With the number of sharp turnings along the hills, some of these bends can be very dangerous if drivers are not attentive enough. In addition, poorly engineered roads also add to the woes. Although the accidents caused by the dents, cracks and ditches on the roads are considerably few in number, these obstacles can’t be dismissed, either.
Apart from these factors, people also lack awareness regarding the proper use of roads and sidewalks. We can see many people randomly crossing roads with regard to their own convenience rather than following the traffic rules. Very few people seem to be concerned about the existing traffic rules.
As a whole, road accidents are caused by many factors, all of which are equally important and unavoidable.
Photo: Bijay Gajmer
Why do you think that road engineering has less role than the diver’s fault for road accidents?
Engineering has less to do than drivers in many road accidents in our country. There are many examples of well engineered roads in Nepal. The six-lane road from Tinkune to Bhaktapur is one such example of properly engineered roads where the number of accidents recorded rose drastically after it was widened because these mishaps are caused by careless driving.
With wider roads, many drivers don’t seem to be concerned with speed limit. They over-speed on such wide roads and cannot stop when they have to, thus causing casualties.
Many people don’t remember but a similar thing happened when the road in Mugling in 1993 was widened. Many drivers were negligent of safe speed limit. These cases prove that the road accidents were not the results of faulty road engineering but the laxity of the drivers.
What is the current road safety status in Nepal?
Back in 1990s, Nepal received a huge amount of grants from the UK for improving road safety in the country. We also had constructed a large number of crash barriers that are used to protect traffic from roadside obstacles or hazards, such as steep slopes that can cause rollover crashes. But after 2000, because the grants we received were not enough, we were not able to carry out any plans regarding road safety measures.
However, this year we have come up with a new road safety action plan to be implemented over the next eight years. But the successful implementation of this project is highly dependent on the upcoming budget. With hope, when a wholesome budget comes, we’ll be able to implement our plans.
Since the initiation of National Road Safety Council, it seems to be inactive. What could be the causes?
Earlier, the National Road Safety Council was formed under the then prime minister of the country. But due to changing political situations and various other factors, the establishment of the Council didn’t fall into the priority list of the government.
Now we have decided to form the Council again under the Minister of Physical Planning and Transport Management. The Council will be formed with the active participation of all our stakeholders, such as the Department of Roads and Transport Management, Traffic Police, drivers, general public and hospitals. And as I said earlier, we have also come up with a new road safety action plan. With that and the new Council, we hope to be able to carry out all our programs accordingly.
What about the coordination with these various stakeholders in the present situation?
There is no such active coordination at present but Nepal Police plays an important part in handling post-crash responses. We are planning to have an immediate rescue team at accident-prone areas for instant response. We are also planning to establish hospitals or health posts in and around such areas for quick medical help. In addition, training for students, teachers and the general public is also underway.
What is the situation for post-crash responses in road accidents?
The present situation of post-crash response is not good in our country. There are many circumstances when the victims have been robbed; victims have also been killed after being robbed. There also have been many cases when the victims could have survived if they were rescued in time. In many accidents, victims have good chances of survival if rescue team and the police are alert and can immediately respond to an accident.
There is indeed a lack of instantaneous service once a calamity has occurred at present. But like I mentioned earlier, we are in the process of bringing our stakeholders together to improve the situation of post-crash responses in our country.
What are the future plans to address these issues of road safety?
Our major plan set to address these issues is to halve the accidents rate per year by 2020. In developed countries, the government sets goals for zero accident rates, which is no doubt practically unattainable. However, those countries try to minimize their road accidents to the minimum. In our case, we are still not in position to aim for zero accident rates due to many factors. But we have set our action plans for the next eight years to at least reduce such accidents by half.
In addition, we plan to update our Road Safety Audit. Road safety audit provides a framework about how constructions of roads should be done in such ways that it is safe. It also revises the engineering of the present roads in the country.
With that, we also plan to mitigate all the present black spots. Black Spots are those regions where accidents occur more than twice in one year. If accidents occur at the same place more than twice a year, it is assumed that something must be wrong with the place. We plan to investigate all such spots and construct necessary countermeasures.
Apart from these, we plan to issue different licenses to the drivers of public vehicles. Such drivers have to take care of many lives on board. It is a huge responsibility of the driver to make sure that all the passengers in his vehicle reach their destination safely. So, more strict tests should be administered for public vehicle drivers.
Will these plans be implemented in the coming fiscal year?
The major plan of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Transport Management set for the coming fiscal year is road safety, given that a comprehensive budget is announced.
We want to conduct a nationwide project if the budget is sufficient. But since Kathmandu’s accident statistics show that around 50% of the total accidents in the country occur here, we are aiming to focus more inside the capital. Studies have shown that every year around, 2,000 people die in road accidents in the country. Of them, 1,000 people in average lose their lives inside Kathmandu. We believe that even if we can minimize road accidents inside the capital, it will still mean a great deal in minimizing the accidents in the country as a whole.
With the budget for the coming fiscal year nearly ready, we plan to direct our resources to ensuring proper road safety for the citizens.
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