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

  • Europe's road safety gain
    February 28, 2012
    New data shows an improvement in Europe's road safety during 2010.
  • UK Government must show “much greater leadership” on road safety
    August 20, 2012
    A leading road safety campaigner has urged the UK government to show “much greater leadership” on the issue after new Department for Transport (DfT) figures revealed a rise in pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads. The number of cyclists killed or seriously injured (KSI) on UK roads between April 1 and June 30, 2012 rose 13% to 700, compared to 621 over the same three months of 2011.
  • GHSA: Pedestrian deaths fall for second year
    July 18, 2025
    However, despite overall progress in the US, alarming trends continue for hit-and-run incidents, especially at night and in places where there are no sidewalks, according to the GHSA - Governors Highway Safety Association.
  • Single vehicle crash risk too high in Europe
    July 13, 2017
    Research shows that single vehicle crashes (SVCs) are a serious problem for road users in Europe. According to crash analysis, around 7300 road users in the EU were killed during 2015 in SVCs. The data also shows that around 94,800 people were killed in SVCs in the EU over the last 10 years.