KATHMANDU, JULY 8

Kathmandu valley reported over 9,000 road accidents in the current fiscal year. According to Metropolitan Traffic Police Division, road accident cases in fiscal 2019/20 stood at 9,461 and negligence on part of the drivers was to primarily blame for most of the cases.

The Number of accidents due to drivers’ negligence was 8,472 followed by 435 due to drunk-driving while 422 road accidents were caused by over-speed. Total 58 accidents were caused by reckless overtaking, 49 from technical errors, 16 due to the wretched condition of the roads, four due to negligence of pedestrians and five due to adverse weather and livestock interference. According to MTPD Chief, Senior Superintendent of Police Bhim Prasad Dhakal, drivers’ reluctance to follow traffic rules is found to be the main reason behind the high number of accidents in the valley. “Disobedience to the rules often leads to accidents. Over-speeding, drunk-driving and failure to keep the vehicles in good condition have been identified as other causes of accidents,” said Dhakal.

The majority of people losing lives to road accidents in the fiscal year belonged to 17-35 age group. Two-wheelers were more vulnerable to accidents. Riders of two-wheelers made the majority of the fatalities from road accidents compared to other vehicles in Kathmandu valley. A total of 76 riders of two-wheelers died in the current fiscal year.

Most of the road accidents occur during the daytime. As many as 9,461 vehicles met with road accidents during daytime in the current fiscal year. Division Chief Dhakal said over-speeding was another major cause of road accidents in Nepal. Despite a surge in road accidents, there are only 1,284 traffic police staffers managing vehicular traffic in the valley.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on July 9, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.