Twenty-six-year old Rabin Thapa and 40-year-old Purna Bahadur Gurung met with an accident when Thapa lost control of his motorbike and crashed near Lila Chowk in Bharatpur Metropolitan City, central Nepal in September this year. Both of them were injured critically and were taken to the Chitwan Medical College for treatment, but they succumbed to their injuries, according to local police.
A report released at the 15thth World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety (2-4 September, 2024) by the World Health Organisation (WHO) South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) highlights what it calls the deplorable state of road safety indicators in Nepal. The report, titled ‘WHO South-East Asia Regional status report on road safety (2024)’ shows that Nepal’s progress in comparison to other countries in the region is the most disappointing when measured against the 12 global road safety performance targets.
According to the report, Nepal has one of the highest road traffic fatality rates in the world with an estimated death rate of more than 28.2 per 100,000 population. While neighbouring countries like India have been reducing the number of road traffic deaths, Nepal has seen a 25 percent increase over the past decade.
Huge socio-economic cost
In its latest report, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that an estimated 8,500 people are losing their lives in Nepal in road crashes every year. Likewise, a study by the World Bank has estimated that Nepal has been facing an annual loss of nearly 3 percent of the national GDP due to these road crashes.
Road fatalities are increasing in Nepal every year and the majority of them involve motorcycle crashes, officials say. According to Nepal Police, nearly 13,000 people were killed during road crashes in Nepal over the last five years while nearly eighty thousand others were injured. The socio-economic cost of road traffic accidents is quite high but the entire society and the government seem to be accepting the situation as a ‘fait accompli.’
According to the Department of Transport Management, there were around 4 million vehicles registered in Nepal in 2021 of which more than 3.2 million were motorcycles and two wheelers. Only 0.7 percent population of Nepal own cars so motorcycles have become an affordable means of transport – quite popular among aspiring youths. It could also be the result of poor public transportation system in the country.
Though motorcycles may be a convenient mode of transport, they are also associated with high risk. According to Nepal Police, over 35,000 road crashes were recorded in the country during the last fiscal year out of which over 56 percent involved motorcycles and two-wheelers.
Wearing a helmet
Researches show that many fatal deaths and serious injuries could be avoided if both the driver and pillion rider wore helmets. According to a publication entitled “Helmets: A road safety manual for decision-makers and practitioners” published by a group of organisations including the WHO and FIA Foundation says that head injuries are the main cause of death in most motorcycle crashes. “Quality helmets reduce the risk of death by over six times, and reduce the risk of brain injury by up to 74%, “ the manual said. “Yet despite this, a number of challenges are slowing the uptake and proper use of quality helmets, particularly in developing countries. These challenges include availability and affordability of quality helmets, improperly fastened helmets, a lack of available helmets for children, hot weather and even misinformation.”
The manual calls upon the governments to enforce a universal helmet law, introduce helmet standards and educate people – especially youth – about the benefits of wearing a helmet. The manual also calls upon the authorities to adopt the Safe System approach, which recognises that road transport is a complex system with interconnecting elements that all affect each other. “A Safe System can only be achieved if safety becomes a fully integrated element in how we organise, design and build out our mobility systems. In this context, actions to ensure motorcyclists can and do wear quality helmets must be part of a holistic and whole-of-government approach to road safety and safe mobility,” the manual said.
In the Nepalese context, while majority of drivers of two wheelers obey the rules and wear helmets, majority of pillion riders do not. A study conducted by NASA Foundation – an NGO that has been advocating for road safety in Nepal- found that number of fatalities of pillion riders was three times more compared to that of drivers.
Many people, especially youth, find it inconvenient to carry an extra helmet with them to be used by a pillion rider. Many of them drop their family members or friends on their way to College or work and don’t want to carry an extra helmet with them. Then, there are issues involved with costs also. When Nepal Police tried to enforce the rule that pillion riders must wear a helmet, many social media users claimed that officials were taking this initiative as helmet dealers had bribed them. Officials did not try to engage with the public and the initiative had to be aborted. When few road safety campaigners call for the need to strict enforcement of helmet use – for both drivers and pillion riders – as prescribed in law, they are instantly targeted and abused by many social media users.
The Vietnam story
Nepal would do well by learning from Vietnam.
In 2007, Vietnam introduced universal helmet law making it mandatory both for the driver and pillion rider to wear helmets. A study, entitled “Heads First: A case study on Vietnam’s conducted jointly by AIP Foundation and FIA Foundation revealed that an estimated 500,000 head injuries and 15,000 fatalities were averted due to increased helmet use between 2007-2017. The study also assessed data from Viet Duc hospital in Hanoi and Hai Duong hospital in northern Vietnam. It found that patient cases with severe brain damage reduced from almost 21 percent in 2007 to 13.6 percent in 2016.
“Vietnam provides an important case study in government determination, sustained over the long term, to tackle motorcycle deaths and injuries,” said Saul Billingsley, Executive Director of the FIA Foundation. “This report shows how to assemble the essential ingredients for success: a clear objective allied to a plan of action, supported by multi-sectoral cooperation, international donor and expert support, active engagement of civil society, mobilisation of communities, and, above all – political courage and commitment.”
Petititon to the Prime Minister
In September this year, civil society leaders, former UN officials and road safety campaigners from around the world sent a petition to Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli urging him to take urgent measures to make Nepal’s roads safe for everyone.
They called upon the government to enact Road Safety Act, set up a powerful Road Safety Council, introduce Star ratings of schools, roads and vehicles based on road safety performance, introduce procedures so as to prioritise vulnerable road users including pedestrians, cyclists, wheel chair users and make it mandatory for the use of quality helmets to all motorbike riders including children, among others.
“Strong road safety measures will not only help in the economic progress of the country, it would also help promote tourism and give a positive image of the country at the world stage at a time when the reputation of its aviation sector is not any better,” the petitioners said.
To begin with, “the (Nepal) government can start by adaptation of well-established helmet-use global best practices, developing helmet safety action plans, and making political leaders more responsible for endorsing, and advocating compulsory helmet use,” say Dr Puspa Raj Panta and Bhagabati Sedain, road safety researchers who also signed on the petition. “Along with these activities, the government needs to allocate a sufficient budget, convince people to mandatorily use helmets, and strictly monitor helmet use in practice,”
Unless it is done, unfortunate and unnecessary deaths of people like Mr Thapa and Mr Gurung will continue in Nepal for many more years to come.
(The author is a former BBC Nepali journalist and can be reached at [email protected] )
Comment