His only defense – the brakes failed, he had to think of a safe spot to crash and unfortunately he didn’t see the woman.[break]
The traffic police investigation department confirmed the technical fault as the cause of the accident as the process of third-party insurance for the family of deceased continues.
For the drivers in Kathmandu, if ever they meet such road accidents, the blame is most likely to be on them.
Indra Bahadur Tamang has been driving a cab in Kathmandu for five years now and though he hasn’t gotten into a serious accident yet he says he fears one almost everyday.
Photo: Keshab Thoker
“I come across many pedestrians who try to cross roads abruptly without even looking from side to side and some just try to run,” says Tamang. “Moreover, Kathmandu doesn’t have many sidewalks and the roads are all too bumpy. On top of that, people sometimes choose to walk in the middle of the road.”
Tamang says that when he honks at groups of people walking on the streets almost blocking the entire passage, some start swearing at him and even kick his taxi.
“By far, motorcyclists are the scariest. They speed up anytime they get an opening and try to squeeze through to overtake big vehicles and most accidents often happen at such time,” he shares. “But the problem is even the law protects pedestrians and passengers on two wheelers as it’s always the bigger vehicles that are penalized.”
The status paper on road safety in Nepal 2011 by the Department of Roads and the police data on various road users and numbers of casualties in road accidents showed the highest number of road causalities happen to be pedestrians, followed by motorcycle riders and two wheelers.
Motorbike rider Bishal Mahat, 22, thinks accidents are as much a fault of Kathmandu’s traffic chaos as it is of the bikers who drive recklessly.
“What can you say about youngsters? They love to speed up which can be reckless, and I guess many road accidents also happen due to drunk driving,” says Mahat who learnt to ride a bike when he was 12. “Besides, it’s also young micro drivers who drive very roughly and most accidents I’ve seen have happened when microbuses hit pedestrians or bike riders.”
Mahat also notes that carelessness of people with their children on the road is also a problem they have to face. “Children often wander around and abruptly come in front of vehicles when their parents aren’t looking,” says Mahat. “I say this out of experience, and though it’s not our fault, the public will always support the child and the parents whereas they don’t see that their carelessness can put their children’s lives in danger.”
For female drivers, there are more distractions that hinder their driving, they say.
“It’s already a challenge to drive in the Kathmandu traffic and on bumpy roads, add to that the discrimination that women cant’ drive properly and the harassment we go through,” shares Sarita Tuladhar who has a scooter as her commute. “Microbuses and bikes on the road honk and make comments at us. Sometimes, they even try to play pranks on us by swaying their vehicles alongside which is not just infuriating to us but dangerous as well.”
As microbus drivers and bikers are pointed out by many as rash drivers, Umesh Shrestha, a microbus driver himself, says the fault lies with the attitude of the drivers and the process through which drivers are given licenses.
“Many microbus drivers and bikers in Kathmandu are those adolescents who often drive rashly for fun and speed,” Shrestha shares. “Moreover, many such young drivers are hardly qualified to drive on the streets. But because many get their licenses quite easily, without strict tests and procedures, more of such rash drivers are out on the streets everyday.”
Public vehicle drivers like Shrestha, most of whom work more than 12 hours a day, say the work tires one out and they have to try hard to remain focused.
“It would be a lot easier if people only followed traffic rules, stayed on their side of the streets, and didn’t put the blame on us all the time.”
Bibek Pratap Khatry who drives a car to get around the city opines that infrastructural improvement and controlling the number of vehicles on the streets to minimize traffic congestion would also lessen the woes of the drivers in Kathmandu.
“More flyovers at busy junctions, zebra crossings and working traffic signals could be of significant help for drivers and pedestrians alike,” he says. “There’s also a lot of awareness campaigns to be done, as many still seem unaware of traffic rules and regulations.”
Shanti Lama, a tempo driver, points to the sidewalk with street vendors laying out their products as pedestrians squeeze by or come over on the main road to walk. “Yes, there are rules and regulations and people might have even read them, but you can’t really afford to follow them here,” she says.
Lama, who has been driving for five years now, says even she does not follow traffic rules all the time. “Even if you follow traffic rules, others will evade them and try to overtake you. In such situations, you appear to be the fool,” she says.
Besides rash drivers, she says pedestrians walking with ear phones plugged on and absorbed in their electronic gadgets are other examples of how careless people can be.
“As drivers, of course, you have to be more careful and focused as your vehicle can cause harm to people,” Lama says. “But the pedestrians have to be alert as well.”
In any accident, it is unfortunate when lives are lost, people are injured and damages caused. But drivers, be it their fault or not, be it intentional or not, have always had to take the entire blame.
As Lama watches the traffic police crack down on jaywalkers, fining them and detaining them at the Shahid Gate, she says she’s happy to see that at least some action is taken against pedestrians too. Responsible and careful driving to avoid tragic accidents on drivers’ part, it is also pedestrians who must equally be responsible for the smooth flow of traffic.
The writer can be reached at ujjwala.maharjan@gmail.com
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