A landslide in Simaltal on the Narayangadh-Muglin road section on Friday morning left two buses in the Trishuli river, causing grief to many. Vehicle accidents are happening frequently on this very busy road section.

The recurrence of accidents confirms that traveling on that stretch of road is dangerous. It may not be at the level of this road section, but after the onset of rainy season, road travel across the country will become dangerous and accidents will increase. Therefore, there is a need for serious discussion and plan implementation regarding road safety in Nepal.

Like in all countries of the world, in Nepal too, road travel seems to be an option for a large population. Road trip is also our lifestyle. But we have a question about the state of the national highway itself. The local roads have become a reflection of 'Asare Vikas' and 'Dosare Engineer'. As such roads increase the chances of landslides, travel has become dangerous. In other words, easy travel by road has not only reached the villages, but the risks have also reached.

When the United Nations celebrated 2011 to 2020 as the decade to reduce the death and injury rate from road accidents, Nepal also expressed a commitment to reduce it by 50 percent within 2020. Road safety action plan was also implemented for that. However, during this period, the rate of road accidents increased by 7 to 8 percent every year. Even now, more than seven people die in road accidents every day. This terrible data shows that the government has not given serious attention to reducing road accidents. 

By making roads as safe as possible, loss of property can be reduced. Loss of active population can be reduced. For this, it is necessary to find the common and specific causes of road accidents in the context of Nepal. There are some reasons for the increase in road accidents - manpower associated with vehicle operation, condition of vehicles, road quality and geography that can cause accidents, including weather. Accidents due to crew member and vehicle condition can be minimized through strict policy rules and monitoring. However, it is too late to make a long-term plan regarding the causes of accidents. It also has two parts. First, the safety measures that will now be adopted on the roads that have been constructed. Second, now the matter to be considered while building the road.

Every year after the onset of monsoon, the road is blocked by continuous rain for a couple of days. According to the data till Friday evening this year, roads have been blocked in 262 places due to rain. National highways are also blocked. Therefore, while building roads, it is necessary to be sensitive to long-term safety, study risks and take precautionary measures to prevent them. Even when the Narayangadh-Muglin road section was being expanded, there was criticism that there was not enough study on the issue of risk control. The risk of landslides is high in that area. But concerned authorities did not pay attention. Giving priority to road expansion only increased the width of the road but did not reduce the risk.

Different roads can have different types of hazards. Therefore, the strategy of building a structure according to the risk should be adopted. Many of our road sections are built along rivers and streams. Installing a 'Cable Barrier System' on the road side of such places can be a solution. Ballasts can be attached to prevent the vehicle from skidding on very steep/downhill roads. Roads in poor condition should be repaired and upgraded immediately. Road tests should also be done regularly. Clear standards should be made and strictly enforced on what kind of vehicles are allowed to run on which roads, the maximum number of passengers in public vehicles, the maximum speed, at what time vehicles are allowed to drive and stop.