Skip to main content

Nepal safety issues

The authorities in Nepal are establishing a road safety plan that is intended to reduce the country’s annual injury and fatality rates. Nepal’s Traffic Police Directorate recently announced figures showing that of the 8,503 accidents recorded in the 2010-2011 financial year, 4,914 occurred within the Kathmandu Valley. The police also said that factors causing accidents included the poor state of gravel and surfaced roads and inadequate traffic signs. Potholes are a major problem on Nepal’s road system accor
April 27, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
Nepal is investing in roads and hopes to boost safety. Picture: Nick Goodwin
The authorities in Nepal are establishing a road safety plan that is intended to reduce the country’s annual injury and fatality rates.

Nepal’s Traffic Police Directorate recently announced figures showing that of the 8,503 accidents recorded in the 2010-2011 financial year, 4,914 occurred within the Kathmandu Valley. The police also said that factors causing accidents included the poor state of gravel and surfaced roads and inadequate traffic signs. Potholes are a major problem on Nepal’s road system according to the police, as well as reducing traffic flow and increasing congestion.

Officials at Nepal’s 2437 Ministry of Physical Planning and Works said that poor road conditions are the result of government policy as well as the long tender process for repairing and improvement of potholes. However, the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works says that there has been progress in maintaining 7000m2 of potholed roads within the Kathmandu Valley and some 5000m2 elsewhere in the country. But because of the focus on reducing potholes, improved signage has moved down the priority list.

Due to the increase in road accidents along the six lane Kathmandu-Bhaktapur road section, one of the local hospitals nearby has carried out a programme focussing on how drivers follow road rules.

Meanwhile the authorities in urban Kathmandhu have been removing roadside advertising hoardings that proliferate in the city. These cause driver distraction and have been attributed as factors in many accidents. In addition, Nepal’s Home Ministry has opted to tackle safety problems arising from vehicles being overloaded with passengers. This has been identified as a major factor in high injury and fatality rates in specific accidents as well as being a factor in causing individual incidents.

Related Content

  • Priorotising road safety worldwide
    March 13, 2012
    Road safety is a crucial issue worldwide and on the busy roads of the 27 EU nations, action is being taken to reduce the annual death toll.
  • Priorotising road safety worldwide
    February 22, 2012
    Road safety is a crucial issue worldwide and on the busy roads of the 27 EU nations, action is being taken to reduce the annual death toll. As a way forward the EU nations have agreed a new safety target to reduce road deaths by 50% by 2020. This follows on from the target set in 2001 of halving road deaths by 2010 and which saw progress being achieved in most countries.
  • Road safety concern for Portugal, Norway, Czech Republic, Bulgaria
    September 11, 2024
    Road safety is seeing worrying standards for Portugal, Norway, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria.
  • Belgium road crashes increase around road works
    May 16, 2018
    There has been an increase in the number of road crashes in Belgium around work zone sites. This problem has been identified by Belgium’s traffic safety institute, VIAS. In 2014 there were 588 road crashes around road work zones in Belgium. However the data shows that in 2016, there were 764 crashes around work zone areas. An increase in the number of road repair jobs is thought to be a factor in this jump in crashes in work zones. Of note is that comparatively few of the crashes occur on major highway rout