National 3 (Spotlight Weekly)

Crash Course On Safety

The traffic police kick off a week-long public awareness campaign

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

The Valley Traffic Police Office (VTPO) has kicked off a week-long traffic awareness campaign from June 9-15 to sensitize pedestrians, drivers, students and all other road-users on the hazards of road accident and how they can be avoided.

Road accidents kill hundreds of people every year. According to figures of the Department of Transport Management, there were about 329,856 vehicles registered in the country by the end of 2001. More than half of these vehicles ply in the congested roads in Kathmandu Valley. On average, 80-100 people die every year in road accidents in the valley alone.

Display of accident- wrecked vehicles : Will it encourage traffice discipline

The tremendous physical and psychological trauma that the family members of those killed in accidents and those injured can not be calculated in terms of costs of treatment alone. "In order to mitigate the hazards of accidents, the VTPO has decided to hit at the root of the problem. We want to make sure all people realize their road responsibilities and abide by traffic discipline," said Man Bahadur Rawal, Senior Superintendent of Police and chief of VTPO.

The VTPO has identified pedestrians, drivers of public vehicles, drivers of tourist vehicles, motorcyclists, cyclists and other drivers and road-users. "Besides, we have targeted young students for long term perspectives," said Rawal. Between 9000 and 11,000 school students would be given a crash course on road discipline and involved in raising mass awareness. Likewise, Rastriya Sewa Dal, Nepal Scout, Jaycees, Lions Club, Rotary Club, Lazimpat Club, community service centers and other social organizations are also actively involved in the campaign.

The VTPO had been organizing Traffic Week for couple of years but this time it has launched the campaign in the most intense manner and has sought the involvement of wider cross-section of society. It aims to distribute tens of thousands of promotional materials including T-shirts, leaflets, key-rings, caps and so on. Scout members and students will educate pedestrians on the usage of zebra-crossing, footpaths and bus-ways during the week.

The VTPO is also involving film artistes in its campaign. "This year our campaign is not only focused at preventing accidents but also in mobilizing people in the aftermath of accidents," said Rawal. He said two dozen new programs will be initiated during the week.

Coinciding with the week, the VTPO is opening a number new electronic traffic signal posts at various parts of the city like Maitighar, Kamal Pokhari and Kalimati.

Drawing from the experience of the week-long Traffic Week in the valley, the traffic police are poised to initiate the country-wide road safety education.

According to experts 80 percent of road accidents can be prevented. According to studies conducted by the Planning and Design branch of Department of Roads analyzing the data of 1999/2000 have shown that pedestrians are most vulnerable group by casualty class. Motorcycles come second followed by tempos, bicycles, cars, vans, minibuses and buses.

Motorcycles are one of the most susceptible group of vehicles in Kathmandu valley. They comprise 66 percent of total vehicles and account for 38 percent of accidents. Cars/jeeps/vans represent 25 percent of vehicles and account for 29 percent of accidents. In terms of age, people in the 20-25 years bracket are most vulnerable followed by the 40-60 years group.

Besides, the congested roads in the city, too, have added to the woes of road safety. According to a study, the three cities in the valley have a combined 1,319 km of road, including 702 km of black-topped roads. With the number of vehicles rising by leaps and bounds, the limited road structure in the city are forced to cater to pressures that they simply cannot handle.

The Traffic Week campaign, definitely, will help raise awareness among general public and road-users on the issues of road safety. But the spirit of the week should not be let to diminish once it comes to end. The VTPO needs to exploit the mass awareness generated by the campaign for strict enforcement of traffic disciplines, which would ultimately bring down the number of accidents and casualties.