Focus on road safety
Nepal’s inability to fund road safety research hinders innovative solutions to control accidental deaths.
Bhagabati Sedain & Puspa Raj Pant, The Kathamdnu Post, Jan 10,
2024
Nepal’s roads are as unsafe as ever. The World
Health Organization’s (WHO) 5th Global Road Safety Status Report,
published in December 2023, paints a grim picture of Nepal’s roads. The WHO
estimated 8,479 road traffic deaths in 2021; the Government of Nepal, however,
reported 2,833 deaths in the same year, nearly three times lower than the WHO’s
data. Further, figures show a 71-77 percent increase in Nepal’s absolute number
of road deaths than in 2013. While the world witnessed a 5 percent decrease in
the absolute number of deaths compared to a decade ago, with 108 countries
reporting a decline between 2 percent and 50 percent, Nepal is drifting in the
wrong direction, and the target of reducing road fatalities by 50 percent by
2030 seems far from reality.
Nepal supports the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety
2021-2030, but it has failed to implement the recommendations of the
Global Plan or a national strategy that sets a realistic trajectory target for
the decade. An unbalanced and unsystematic focus on road construction safety is
a significant failure, leading to persistently high rates of road traffic
crashes, fatalities, injuries and substantial social and economic costs.
Economists have estimated that the economic
losses of Nepal’s road crashes have tripled each decade—from $14 million in
1996 to $41 million in 2007 and $123 million in 2017. The 2021 national census
recorded an increase in the absolute number of people with disabilities;
however, data regarding the severity and type of disabilities caused by road
crashes are still lacking.
Similarly, the second Decade of Action
outlined the key areas for action and suggested action points aligning with
the five road safety pillars (road safety
management, safer vehicles, safer road users, post-crash response and safer
driving environment) and speed control. It describes the government’s role and
accountability towards safe systems, leading to the design of transport systems
and the development of action plans. The lead agency, usually appointed by the
government (absent in Nepal), coordinates and encourages individual or
collective road safety endeavours of the private sector, civil society and
academia. Equally crucial is capacitating and updating quality standards and
law enforcement to evaluate the effectiveness of implemented interventions.
The urgent endorsement of the 8-year-pending
Road Safety Bill’s draft is crucial for establishing a Road Safety Management
apex body. This will lay the legal foundation for establishing an independent
and fully-resourced National Road Safety Council. Once formed, the Council has
to finalise the National Road Safety Action Plan (2021-2030). Nepal's failure
to adopt the UN Road Safety Conventions and globally
recognised vehicle safety standards has resulted in
the widespread use of unsafe vehicles, contributing to the severity of road
crashes and fatalities.
Traffic law enforcement in Nepal is inconsistent
and inadequate. This includes lax enforcement of helmet-wearing laws for
motorcycle passengers, a lack of legislation for passenger seatbelt use and
child restraints and the widespread use of mobile phones while driving. Safe
and high-quality helmets reduce the risk of death from head injuries by over
six times, eventually mitigating the risk of brain injury by up to 74 percent.
Public awareness campaigns and educational programmes promoting safe driving
behaviours and road safety practices among road users are also severely
lacking.
We must improve the existing road
infrastructure to ensure safety for all types of road users. Nepal has 3.9
million motorised vehicles on its roads. The road network should also be
suitable and safe for cyclists and pedestrians, as an unsafe road
infrastructure puts them in danger. In 2021, pedestrians and cyclists accounted
for 26.3 percent of the total road fatalities. Installing proper pedestrian
crossings, traffic lights, and speed control measures around schools and
residential areas should be prioritised.
Research evidence, technological innovations
and good practice guidance documents are available to guide, support and
educate decision-makers on road traffic injuries. Utilising them could save
scarce financial resources on road safety; however, the significance of primary
empirical research remains crucial. Despite a 5 percent decline in deaths
globally, Nepal saw a 77 percent increase due to failed actions.
Nepal’s inability to fund road safety research
and development limits evidence generation and hinders innovative solutions to
the country’s distinct road safety challenges. Owing to the limited capability
of crash data collection, the WHO has to model standardised estimates for
Nepal. The police recorded approximately 20,000 injuries, while the Ministry of
Health OPD records indicated almost 100,000 road traffic injuries. However, for
the year 2021-22, police recorded, on average, 108 crashes daily (nationwide),
of which 56 percent were recorded in Bagmati Province alone, and Madhesh and
Koshi provinces made up 36 percent. It is difficult to believe that the
remaining four provinces (Gandaki, Lumbini, Karnali and Sudurpaschim combined)
accounted for only 8 percent of the total crashes. These statistical gaps hinder
the ability to accurately assess the scale of a problem and monitor progress
towards achieving road safety targets. The road crash data collection system
created by the Nepal government with the support of donor agencies urgently
needs to be rolled out.
Nepal’s emergency medical services, post-crash
response and trauma care, are inadequate, causing delays in treating road crash
victims and contributing to higher mortality rates and long-term disabilities
among survivors. A sound emergency care system can save lives by strengthening
the ambulance system and building the capacity of professionals and responders.
A trauma hospital registry can provide data for evidence-based recommendations
and help in continuous quality care improvements.
