Focus on road safety

Many of the injured are permanently disabled. According to the study, the external cost to the country's economy due to premature death and disability due to road accidents is about 1 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Apart from these socio-economic effects, the long-term impact on the family is heartbreaking.

In the last two decades, the number of registered vehicles in Nepal has increased by 35 times. Traffic congestion and air pollution have increased significantly in the city. The average travel speed during office hours (peak hours) in Kathmandu Valley is less than 7 kmph, which is much lower than the acceptable level of service (LOS) in any capital city in the world. Although there is no established study to determine the external cost to the national economy due to traffic jams, it is said to be around one percent of GDP. Kathmandu is among the most polluted cities in the world. As various deadly diseases related to air pollution are increasing day by day, the public health system is affected.

After working in Qatar for almost a decade, Prem Sharma Lamsal, a senior highway engineer currently working in Cambridge, UK, sees various reasons for the increase in road accidents in Nepal. According to him, there are problems in the existing policies such as road safety management ownership, road operation ownership, 'real life driving test', regulation of 'driving school' and 'driving instructor' to be done before issuing driver's license. His question is - when the state is not interested in what kind of driving schools and 'instructors' they are, how can they assume that the learners are competent?

According to Nepal Traffic Police, more than 90 percent of road accidents are caused by negligence of drivers. But Lamsal argues, 'Nobody is ready to risk their own lives knowingly or willingly. A closer look at most major road accidents reveals either a problem with the vehicle, a problem with the road infrastructure, or the driver's efficiency. It is also the responsibility of the state to issue a driver's license only by making the driver competent.'

In many countries, before issuing a license, the driver's efficiency is tested in 'real life' driving, from high-speed roads through narrow settlements to pedestrians and other road users, on uphill and downhill roads. In the case of vehicles that drive large buses and carry a lot of people, special experience and additional checks are required. There are also many problems in the implementation of the existing policy and institutional framework (annual vehicle inspection and renewal, 'mechanical' check pass before departure of long-distance buses, provision to have two drivers on long routes, driving 'license' issuing body, etc.).

laws are also not applicable in practice. Weakness in road design, hesitancy in using the latest technology, lack of coordination between stakeholders and lack of public awareness are also seen. In order to reduce road accidents, air pollution and traffic jams in Nepal, comprehensive improvement of public transport, making wide sidewalks and bicycle lanes, improving 'road intersections', installing traffic lights, keeping adequate road signs, improving sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, road safety 'audit' It is also necessary to make it mandatory, to study the traffic impact it will generate along with the new development, and to bring a risk assessment system for the designers.

According to Lamsal, changes in the existing policies and investment in physical infrastructure in the right direction can be done in the long run to improve our country's transportation system. If a little increase in investment in public transport makes it available to the common people, the attraction towards private cars and motorbikes may decrease a little. By increasing the 'dedicated' bus lanes, we should be able to create an environment where buses can be reached faster than private vehicles.

When the number of private vehicles decreases, not only vehicles, but also the huge trade deficit of the country due to 'spare parts', diesel, petrol etc. can be reduced. On the other hand, traffic jams and air pollution are greatly improved. Road accidents can be reduced. Policy changes for safer roads, integrated urban transport planning, car-free inner cities, 'e-mobility', green and clean energy in the transport sector, bus 'rapid transit' and 'metro rail' are long-term solutions.

In countries that have adopted a 'safe system approach' for road safety, vehicle accidents and the loss of life due to them have decreased significantly. The components of a safe systems approach are – safe road users, safe vehicles, safe road infrastructure and safe speed management systems. If we embrace the concept of sustainable development in the transport system and build infrastructure, even the country's weak and sluggish economy can become strong.