Cover Story (Spotlight Weekly)

Everybody’s Concern and Nobody’s Priority

In terms of safety, riding motorbike has turned out to be one of the deadliest and most unsafe means of transport in the capital valley – where all kinds of traffic rules are rampantly violated. Although, roads in Nepal are congested by vehicles, human negligence is also largely responsible for the accidents. Whether it is in the highways or urban areas, majority of accidents in Nepal can be avoided simply by following the traffic rules and regulations. Since the rate of casualty continues to rise, the road accident is going to be one of the top ten killers with long-term economic implications for families and society. At a time when we are facing serious challenges of road accident, it has become everybody’s concern but nobody’s priority

By KESHAB POUDEL

Gagan Shrestha, 24, is currently undergoing treatment at Tribhuwan University Teaching Hospital after he met with an accident. Only because he was wearing a helmet he survived but his leg has been badly fractured and he might have to undergo amputation.

Gagan is not the only rider who has been handicapped due to accident. Thousands of people have sustained various kinds of injuries due to road accidents in the last one decade. Everyday a couple of people are admitted to hospitals for treatment of accident wounds. Some people even lose their lives.

Samir Khanal, a 22 year boy, was discharged following three months long treatment in a hospital recently. Khanal was hit by a motorbike at one of the main streets of the capital.

A handful of patients with head injuries are admitted to Bir Hospital’s Neurosurgical Department every month. Thanks to the former minister and renowned surgeon Dr. Upendra Devkota’s efforts for making the use of helmet mandatory for pillion riders, the cases of head injuries and fatalities have drastically declined. But the number of accidents still continue to grow.

“Our experiences have shown that the proper use of helmet and strict adherence to the traffic rules and regulations can prevent serious head injuries as well as fatalities,” said senior superintendent of Police (SSP) Surendra Bahadur Pal, chief of the Valley Traffic Police Office. “Since roads here are over congested and large number of drivers, mostly motorbike riders, violate traffic rules, managing traffic for safe driving has become difficult.”

At a time when countries like Nepal are facing serious consequences of road accidents, the World Health Organization (WHO) has pertinently chosen the theme “Road Safety Is No Accident” to celebrate this year’s World Health Day on April 7.

Traffic Rules

Motorbikes : Vulnerable vehicles

The main roads within Kathmandu are like theaters of traffic anarchy. Despite increase in the vehicles’ numbers and population, the unexpanded roads of the valley still serve pedestrians, motorbikes, cars, buses and all other vehicles including cattle and stray dogs in addition to serving as storage of construction materials and venues for mobile shops.

The road is so violent and anarchic that everyone is permitted to do everything. Motorbike riders can run in any lane and overtake from anywhere. There are virtually no rules and regulations at the road.

One can conduct a sudden U-turn and stop. The buses, mini-buses and taxis can stop anywhere. If passengers ask drivers to stop, buses stop at every point regardless of the inconvenience that will cause to other vehicles on the road.

Despite the presence of overhead bridges and zebra crossings, pedestrians still cross the road wherever they like resulting in frequent road accidents. Since Kathmandu is an unplanned city, there are intersections anywhere and everywhere. Even at the ring roads, there are more than 200 intersections.

Rate of Accidents

By any standard, road accidents are quite high in Nepal. The record of Valley Traffic Police Office (VTPO) shows that the numbers of accidents have continued to go up in the last one decade. In 2003, 109 were killed in the valley in 2000 cases of accidents with 2000 injuries and 25 disabilities.

The number of accidents for the whole country that year stood at around 4,000. There were around 300 deaths and 4,000 injuries of different kinds.

The number of casualty has risen alarmingly in the last three years with the road accidents. According to the annual report of the VTPO, the annual volume of traffic accidents was 2000 on average in the last five years while average casualty was around 100 persons.

Interestingly, motorbikes covered over 80 percent of the accidents. A study by the VTPO showed that most of the fatal road accidents occurred in the night-time when the motorcycle riders are drunk.

“Thanks to the mandatory use of helmets even to pillion riders, the fatality has declined drastically but we need to take more steps to prevent the accidents,” said SSP Surendra Bahadur Pal.

Increase in the volume of vehicles and violations of traffic rules and regulations are going hand in hand resulting in the growing number of accidents.

Top Three Accident Spots of the Valley

In terms of number of casualty, Sukedhara (Chabahil), Gwarko (Lalitpur) and Basundhara point (Kathmandu) are top three accident-prone spots in the valley.

According to the Traffic Engineering and Safety Unit of the Department of Roads, Kathmandu valley’s roads are already congested and the average speed at the office hours is found to be less than 10 km per hours.

According to the Annual Report of Department of Health Services 2002, during that period there were 610 morbidity. There were altogether 710 morbidity in the year 2001.

The figures are alarming enough The World Health Organization’s worldwide record shows that every day as many as 140,000 people are injured on the roads and more than 3,000 die while some 15,000 are disabled for life.

The study of WHO also shows that pedestrians and riders of bicycles, motorcycles and mopeds are less protected. Compared on the basis of per kilometer traveled, they are at far greater risk than the drivers and passengers of cars and larger motor vehicles. They are vulnerable road users. The study showed that a person on foot is more unsafe than the one in the car whereas the motorcycle riders are more vulnerable than anyone else.

Economic Cost of Accidents

The cost of accident is very high since often the amount is unbearable for the family of middle income population. In most of the cases, injuries are more likely to result in death or disability. A family has to bear the burden of a disabled member.

Although the economic cost of accidents is yet to be analyzed in detail, families of victims have to bear huge amount of money. Since most of the victims are young, society and family has to bear heavy and long-term economic burden.

Each person killed or disabled has a network of relatives. Those closest to the victims may experience a long timer and short-term adverse physical, economical and social outcomes. The families are compelled to live with reduced incomes and increased expenses. There will be heavy burden in medical and other expenses.

In 2001/2002, an estimated 80,000 people with different injuries were treated at Emergency department; Bir Hospital and one third of them were injured in motorbike-related accidents that required emergency department care. Approximately half of these motorcyclists were young. An estimated 50-100 persons are treated each year in valley’s major hospitals for injuries sustained while motorbike driving.

The cost of injury is always high. In case of head injury, there will be long run treatment with complications in the rehabilitation. Even after survival, the head injured person could lose fitness and has to depend on others.

Although no studies have been conducted yet to find out the cost of such injuries associated with the motorcycle-related head injury or death or other injuries, it is estimated to exceed millions of rupees. “The management of injury is again very expensive. Statistic shows male contingent are more vulnerable and subject to be victims of injury. More productive groups of people are more vulnerable again. The victims of injury are deprived of income. Since the treatment is expensive and time consuming, many victims of lower class families have to suffer. The cost of surviving victims is very high and disability causes damage in overall capability of earning,” said senior surgeon and former director of Bir Hospital Dr. Ram Prasad Shrestha. (See box)

“We received 67,000 cases a in the emergency last year. Among them more than 40 percents were victims of accidents,” said Dr. Saroj Krishna Shrestha, senior orthopedic. “Although Bir Hospital has Trauma department, it requires more and more trained and specialized manpower to deal with the situation.”

“Nepal, too, has high number of accident-related deaths. Within the South Asian region, there are death cases of 1.5 million. Out of that, there are various kinds of injuries. Road accidents are basic cause of injury in developed and developing countries. Big bulk of injury, disabilities and deaths are caused by road accidents. In countries like Nepal, pedestrians are the primarily vulnerable victims of the road accident. In developed countries, vehicle users are the vulnerable groups. In Nepal, the majority of victims are not the vehicle users,” said Dr. Ram Prasad Shrestha, who is formulating a national injury safety strategy. “Pedestrians, motorbike and bi-cycle riders are the major victims of the road accident. And most of the victims are non-affluent and deprived people.”

No one follows the lane discipline and traffic signals. Motorcycle drivers overtake from every side of the road- left or right. They do frequent U-turn and drive even after consuming alcohol. Mostly young drivers even do not hold the license and drive without control over the speed.

Even the middle-aged persons are found to be carrying whole families in their motorbikes and many people even use it to fetch things like iron rods, cement packs and what not. Although motorbikes are made out for two passengers, people use it to carry up to four family members. Since the motorbikes are based on two wheelers, it is technically more vulnerable.

The accidents are higher in the highways of hills where visibility is low and bends are sharp. There are more truck accidents than bus. Although Kathmandu valley has a high number of traffic accidents, it does not have any special hospital to treat the accident wounds.

Vehicle Registration

The rise in the number of vehicles has further raised the risk of accidents. According to the Department of Transport Management, about 392,565 vehicles were registered in the country by the end of 2003. And 244,402 units of the total were motorcycles, which represent the largest group. Cars\jeeps\vans come second with 66,976. There are 11,846 buses; 3,966 minibuses; 24,687 trucks and tankers; 7,199 three wheelers; 29,665 tractors; and 3,848 other vehicles.

Bagmati zone alone has 224,098 vehicles, the highest among the kingdom's 14 zones, of which 156,410 are motorcycles. Narayani zone has 67,509 vehicles. The registration of buses, trucks, tankers and tractors is the highest in Narayani zone. At 1,549, Rapti zone has the lowest number of registered vehicles.

Over the last decade, there has been a five-fold increase in the number of vehicles in Nepal. In 1989\1990, there were only 76,378 vehicles, including 32,776 motorcycles. The number of cars\jeeps\vans then was 23,050.

Length of Road

According to a study, the three cities of Kathmandu valley have a combined network of 1,319 km of roads, including 702 km black-topped, 289.5 km of gravel track and 327.20 km of rough lane. Among the three districts, Kathmandu has 804 km of roads, which includes 493 km black-topped tracks, 171.5 km gravel roads and 139.20 trails.

According to a study on accident casualties in Nepal conducted during fiscal year 1999\2000 by the Design Branch of Department of Roads, there were 38 deaths per 1,000 km. There were 15,905 km of roads across the country during the period.

The study recorded the highest number of deaths per 1000 km in Baglung, followed by Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Dhading and Gorkha. Baglung, which has 33 km of roads, recorded seven deaths and 22 injuries.

In terms of numbers, Kathmandu district, which has 804 km roads, shares the highest number of deaths and injuries. Lalitpur district, which has 338 km of roads, recorded second highest death and injuries. Bhaktapur had the lowest number of deaths and injuries in the valley.

Speed Limit

As the number of vehicles increase, the speed of vehicles decline. According to the Department of Roads, during the office hour the speed at ring road - which was built for speed of 40 km per hour – is found to be around 10 km per hour. Thanks to the huge number of small private vehicles, roads are over congested.

Bhaktapur-Maitighar road was built with a capacity of handling 700 vehicles per hour. It is now coping with 1677 vehicles per hour. The situation in the most of the roads in the valley is similar.

Because of the large number of vehicles, the traffic management has become a major challenge. During the daytime, traffic police have to concentrate their efforts to pave the way for smooth flow of vehicles and to avoid the jam. They don’t seems to have time to watch out for the violations of other traffic rules including haphazard change of lanes as well as overtaking.

Although vehicle movement is reduced drastically at night, the number of accidents reported was higher during the night with major casualties and fatalities. Most of the accidents in the valley could be prevented through basic vehicle maintenance and greater awareness, experts say. Whether on highways or in the valley's roads, most accidents occurred in the night when drivers were under the influence of alcohol.

Studies conducted by the Traffic Engineering and Safety Unit of Department of Roads analyzing the data of 1999\2000 have shown that pedestrians are most vulnerable group by casualty class, with 375 minor injuries, 140 serious injuries and 40 deaths. Motorcycles came second, with 330 minor injuries, 90 serious injuries and 20 deaths. Tempos, bicycles, cars, vans, minibuses and buses recorded fewer casualties.

Motorcycles are one of the most vulnerable vehicles in Kathmandu. They comprise 66 percent of vehicles and account for 38 percent of accidents. Cars/jeeps/vans represent 25 percent of vehicles and account for 29 percent of accidents. Trucks and tankers make up the highest percentage in accidents in heavy vehicle movement in Kathmandu. In terms of age, people in the 20-25 years bracket are most vulnerable, followed by the 40-60 years group.

These figures indicate the high economic and social toll taken by road accidents. In most of the accidents, victims belong to the most economically active age group. This loss undermines the whole family and affects such national indicators as education and national income.

“Road Users Need To Change Their Behavior”

— Sunil Paudyal

SUNIL PAUDYAL, an engineer at the Traffic Engineering and Safety Unit of Department of Roads, has had a long experience of working at the safety unit. He has conducted many studies on road accidents. Paudyal spoke to SPOTLGIHT on various issues related to road accidents. Excerpts:

What do you suggest to reduce traffic congestions and accidents?

Since the mass transport system is not dependable, people are buying motorbikes as the easiest way to meet their need for mobility. Motorbikes are the cheapest and most convenient means of transport. However, we also need to have footpaths. If you talk about length of road in Kathmandu, the ring road is just around 27 kilometer long with its diameter on average being 8 kilometers. For instance, people have a walking distance of different diameters. Why do people buy motorbikes? If people find reliable mass transport, no one would want to ride unsafe motorbikes. The problem here is undependable mass commuter system.

How safe our highways and roads?

In terms of engineering design, our highways and roads are safe. Though some highways have many bends, they are technically all right. We have already improved many bends and turning improving the visibility of roads. Till a few years back, we continued to spend our budget for road marking but we have not been doing it for the last couple of years because of lack of budget. We require road marking in all highways - which will prevent the accidents. From different signs to lane marking, all are essential in preventing road accidents.

Why so frequent road accidents then?

The road accidents result due to ignorance of traffic rules. For instances, the speed limit of Prithvi Highway is 40 kilometer per hours but drivers there drive vehicles at the speed up to 60 miles an hour. We are unable to control the speed limit. After the intensification of Maoist insurgency, the situation has gone from bad to worse due to lack of monitoring.

Do you have any plan to extend the roads?

Following a recent decision of the government, the responsibility of maintenance and extension of city road has been given to the municipalities. Department of Roads will only look at the main roads. The expansion and extension of road network within the city is the job of municipalities. We have a very limited length of city roads. We don’t have budget to expand the network.

Don’t you see any possibility to extend the road network?

Extension of the road in the valley is virtually impossible since one has to pay huge amount of money just to pay as compensation to people whose land will have to be acquired.

How to make roads safe, then?

Nepalese roads are technically safe but the problem is to mark the road and generate awareness among drivers and pedestrians regarding the rules and regulations of the road.

How do you see the behavior of road users?

Frankly speaking, the behavior of road users has changed fast. People are not following the normal rules of the road. If one does not see any police at the road, drivers do not stop their vehicles even at red light. No one is following the lane discipline. Accidents are a cumulative effect of all these problems. Road users need to change their behavior. Likewise, we need to improve the quality of footpaths. The Department of Roads should renovate the road as soon as there is certain damage. Maintaining the road quality is an important component to prevent the road accident.

There is also a report that pedestrians continue to be victims of road accidents. How can you improve that situation?

I have not seen people crossing the road through zebra crossing. They are crossing it haphazardly. From drivers to pedestrians, nobody seems to be serious in following the road rules.