This article discusses the issue of road traffic accidents in Nepal, highlighting the high incidence of accidents and injuries. It explores the root causes of the problem and the policy implications for addressing it. Recommendations are provided for improving road safety in Nepal.
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Running head: ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL Road Traffic Accident in Nepal Name of the Student: Name of the University: Author Note:
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1ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL Executive Summary It is reported that one death occurs per 5.8 accidents and it is very high in the urban part of the country that has occurred due to the poor condition of the roads and the high number of the vehicles. It is important to mention that the severity of accidents alone is a major factor that causes injuries and death. Environmental factors are the ones that have significantly affected the road accident and health of the people as well. The population of Nepal is at its limit and it is also called as one of the most polluted nations in the world. The vehicles that are most accessible in Nepal are the bicycle, moped, scooter, and motorbike. The driver/rider of these vehicles is at the increased amount of risk from the exposure to noise and polluted air. Therefore, in a larger context the people that use open vehicles are at the risk of developing cancer, heart disease, lung diseases, respiratory diseases, and this as whole impacts health significantly. The other areas that need attention are the lack of a skilled driver, old vehicles, lack of safety, poor conditions of the roads, and the different types of faults in the system. The road safety authorities can make improvements in these areas so as to ensure road safety.
2ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL Context and importance of the problem Issue in focus The road accidents are of great concern for an individual across the different counties and it can be considered as an alarming health issue that poses road accident as a hazard. In comparison to all the countries, Southeast Asia nations are the ones that are the worst affected by the higher incidents of road accidents. It can be said that the rate of road accidents, there is a total of 20.7 deaths per 1000,000 populations. It has been found that Nepal is one of the countries in Southeast Asia that have the highest incidence of road accidents and injuries. Nepal has a total population of 28 million and Nepal is a developing country that has an approximate expenditure of 4.8 percent of the GDP (Saud and Paudel 2018). It is important to mention that the financial budgeting on the health-related services and the quality of the health services are both poor in Nepal when it is compared with the other in South East Asia. The WHO report in 2018 has highlighted an alarming growth in the road accidents in Nepal and it is one of the biggest concern for itself as it has been ranked as the 6th largest cause for the mortality in the nation. Recent data released by the Government of Nepal has highlighted that a total of 10000 to 11000 accidents occurred and it lead to the death of 2000 individuals and 9000 were fatal as well as non-fatal injuries (World Health Organization. 2018). The root cause of the problem One of the leading causes of the accidents in Nepal is the geographical location of the country and the majority of the accidents occur in the urban areas of the country. The urbanization in Nepal at a rapid scale has led to an unprecedented increase in the number of vehicles and the increase in population as well.
3ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL Policy implications of the problem that clearly establishes the current importance and policy relevance of the issue The road conditions are worse and very dangerous that directly increases the possibility of accidents. The probability of accidents occurring in Nepal is higher than India and Japan and the probability percentage is 80 percent. Nepal is a developing nation and the increasing rate of road accident per year leads to a greater degree of issue in the country. It is a serious challenge for the nation that is in a developing stage and the high burden of the road accidents exerts a big amount of pressure on the socio-political, medical, behavioural, geographical, environmental and financial paradigms due to the extremity of the issue (Sapkota, Bista and Adhikari 2016). Therefore, the policies made for the reduction of road traffic accidents will highly impact the practicesof the driver, the negligenceregarding actionsof the driver. When the health frameworks are taken as a reference, it can be seen that there are a lot of factors that lead to road accidents in Nepal. Considering the road condition of Nepal, there is a total of 3.1 million vehicles that runs within the country that has a geographical area of 147,181 square km. This highlights that there is an increased burden on the road that is already in a deteriorating condition. Therefore it can be said that road traffic accident can be effectively controlled through potential strategies of accident control and management of road safety(Mishra et al. 2017). Critique of policy options The existing policy Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 2049 (1993) highlights that The transportation services will be made effective, efficient and consolidated so as to prevent the motor vehicles accidents. this will enable the victims to have compensation and provide insurance that will make the transportation facilities available to the general public in an
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4ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL easy and simple way. The Act will facilitate the victim of the accident with proper insurance, compensation and that will make transportation facilities valuable to the general public. The Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 2049 (1993) includes punishment for road accidents. The Act highlight that if a person in any manner in which a person that was either in a vehicle or outside the vehicle dies immediately then it will be termed as an accident. Even if the accident was committed intentionally it will be considered as a homicide. The accident will be considered as an act that has been caused due to reckless driving and it is intended that driving vehicles can actually cause the death of a person. Such a person will be punished with imprisonment for a period of two to ten years. The punishment will be decided depending upon the gravity of the situation (Lawcommission.gov.np 2019). A situation where a person is driving a motor vehicle and it does not seem that the person inside or outside the vehicle is not in a position to die. Whereas, if an accident takes place and any of the person whether inside or outside the vehicle dies. Then the person that was driving the vehicle will be held responsible. The driver will also be punished with an imprisonment of one year and or a fine up to two thousand rupees. Both the punishment can also be given to the person. If the owner of a vehicle does to hold a driving license and he hits or runs over another person and meets an accident, then the person who is inside the vehicle or outside becomes disables due to the event. Thenthepersonwhowasdrivingthevehiclewillbeapersonwillbepunishedwith imprisonmentfornotmorethan8yearsorfinenotexceedingfivethousandrupees (Lawcommission.gov.np 2019). It is important to mention that the total length of the vehicles that are operating in the Kathmandu valley is actually more than the length of the roads. The length of the roads will be 4.8 million feet whereas, the length of the vehicles will be 7.2 million feet. It has been
5ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL highlighted that there are multiple causes of road accidents and it is mainly related to the behaviours of the driver. The mechanical conditions of the vehicles and the condition of the roads are the major contributor to road accidents (Karkee and Lee 2016). It is important to highlight that a huge number of buses crashes indicates that it is related to driving-related issues. Issues like the consumption of alcohol and driving, overwork, overloading, overtaking, speeding also contribute to the increase in road accidents. These issues are not highlighted in the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 2049 (1993). It can be said that there are accidents that occur are due to the presence of the loopholes in the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 2049 (1993). It can be said that the data on the traffic accidents highlights that the driving- relatedissuesaremorearehigherthanthepedestriannegligenceormechanicalfaults (Anantharaman and Logaraj 2015). The Act has failed miserably because the insurance system for the vehicle owners/drivers along with the third party insurances are not developed in a proper and well- mannered way. It is important to mention that if a takes place due to the negligence of the driver then that person is sent to prison. However, if the driver does not fault then the alleged driver is released just after paying fines. While it is important to mention that the Nepal government has increased the fines for the violation of the traffic rules and it has been done by amending section 164 of the Act of 1993. This has come to effect from the 14th May 2015 (Shrestha et al. 2017). Furthermore, it can be mentioned that the road conditions are slippery and there are risks associated with the landslides, narrow mountain roads, carelessness and also due to overcrowded vehicles. There is a further reason for road accidents like the poor road engineering, lack of awareness of the traffic rules, roadside parking, wrongly chosen location of the passing bays, inadequate safety barriers, lack of visibility of the at the blind corners, and the road corners. All these factors are
6ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL highlighted to be causing road traffic that has accidents in Nepal roads. Traffic congestion is also a major factor in which the driver that are stuck in a traffic jams drive fast after they are stuck in the traffic jam for too long (Choulagai et al., 2015). Recommendations The alarming increase in the rate of the accidents has highlighted the need for an overall road safety plan that can ensure the road safety of the commuters, the driver that use vehicles for their everyday purposes. There are various reasons for the cause of road accidents in Nepal roads. There are a lot many reasons than the ones that indirectly affect and cause road accidents. Such road accidents will not be taken into account. It is important to mention that the poorly maintained vehicles ferry passengers that are being driven by the inexperienced drivers that lack the knowledge of driving safely. The operators of the public transport services also lack the accountability that leads to vehicle crashes as well as mechanical errors (Kathmandupost.ekantipur.com 2019). Whereas, it can be noted that it can be fixed with a simple tune-up procedure. Therefore, this requires a central road safety agency that can coordinate with the stakeholders that are involved with the safety in the roads. This agency can be brought into place for improving road safety in the country. National Road Safety Council was set up in the year 1990 by the Nepal government and they have undertaken the road safety interventions but it is dysfunctional now due to its faulty designs. This typical council can be revived as it can be felt that road safety is a shared responsibility and the sectors need to work together so as to minimise the accidents and ensure safety as well. A road safety strategy can be formulated that can effectively and efficiently mitigate the loss of life from road accidents and a council can also be formed. Nepal already has a Nepal road safety action plan for the year 2013 to 2020 that suggests that adoption of the broader safety for the improvement of
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7ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL road safety (Adhikari 2016). The plan can be used to improve as well as empower the legal authorities so as to delegate work among the different agencies. It is important to highlight that other than monitoring road safety, and the various initiatives of the various agencies. The council can work along with the common frameworks so that the different stakeholders can implement the measures and intervention necessary for the mitigation of road traffic accidents. The best initiative as of now is the setting up of a central body that will be used to reduce road accidents and ensure road safety as well. It is important to highlight that the council can be efficient and effective if the agencies consider the same as an independent body. This particular council needs to comprise of a team of experts that will minimize road accidents as well as assist in the daily activities (Dor.gov.np 2019).
8ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL Reference Adhikari, G.P., 2016. Road traffic accidents (RTAs) trends on Kathmandu-Bhaktapur Road after addition of lanes.Open journal of civil engineering,6(03), p.388. Anantharaman, V.V. and Logaraj, M., 2015. Epidemiology of Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) Reported at a Tertiary care hospital in Chennai.National Journal of Research in Community Medicine,4(1), pp.101-105. Choulagai,B., Ling,H., Sharma,P., Mishra,S.R., Ahmed,M. and Chand,P.B., 2015. Epidemiology of Road Traffic Accidents in Nepal: Data Review and Qualitative Analysis.SM Journal of Public Health & Epidemiology,1, p.1014. Dor.gov.np, 2019.Nepal Road Safety Action Plan (2011 -2020). [online] Dor.gov.np. Available at:http://dor.gov.np/home/publication/traffic-safety/force/road-safety-action-plan-english [Accessed 16 May 2019]. Karkee, R. and Lee, A.H., 2016. Epidemiology of road traffic injuries in Nepal, 2001–2013: systematic review and secondary data analysis.BMJ open,6(4), p.e010757. Kathmandupost.ekantipur.com, 2019.Monitoring traffic and vehicle safety must for preventing roadaccidents.[online]Kathmandupost.ekantipur.com.Availableat: https://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2014-11-04/monitoring-traffic-and-vehicle-safety- must-for-preventing-road-accidents.html [Accessed 16 May 2019]. Lawcommission.gov.np, 2019.Chapter – 10Provisions relating to punishment – Nepal Law Commission.[online]Lawcommission.gov.np.Availableat: http://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/archives/20324 [Accessed 16 May 2019].
9ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT IN NEPAL Lawcommission.gov.np,2019.Preamble–NepalLawCommission.[online] Lawcommission.gov.np.Availableat:http://www.lawcommission.gov.np/en/archives/20347 [Accessed 16 May 2019]. Mishra, B., Sinha, N., Sukhla, S. and Sinha, A., 2017. Epidemiological study of road traffic accident cases from Western Nepal.Indian Journal of Community Medicine, 35(1), p.115. Sapkota, D., Bista, B. and Adhikari, S., 2016. Economic Costs Associated with Motorbike Accidents in Kathmandu, Nepal.Frontiers in Public Health, 4. Saud, B. and Paudel, G., 2018. The Threat of Ambient Air Pollution in Kathmandu, Nepal. Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2018, pp.1-7. Shrestha, V.L., Bhatta, D.N., Shrestha, K.M., GC, K.B. and Paudel, S., 2017. Factors and pattern of injuries associated with road traffic accidents in Hilly district of Nepal.Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,5(12), p.88. World Health Organization., 2018.Global status report on road safety 2018. [online] Available at:https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2018/en/[Accessed16 May 2019].