Road Safety – Deathtrap, Tragedy and Tax

The alarming rise in the frequency of accidents on the highways in recent years shows just how unsafe our roads are. Many people have lost their lives while thousands others have been left disabled or injured. The conditions of roads, decades-old vehicles, syndicate and cartel by transport associations and negligence of drivers are mainly attributed as reason for frequent road accidents.

Road Accidents

With the increasing series of accidents, more than 120 people have been killed while over 300 others severely injured in road accidents in the past month (July 15-August 15) alone, according to data maintained by Nepal Police. The data released by Nepal Police show that a total of 4017 people lost their lives between fiscal year 2013/14 to 2015-16. The reasons for road fatalities include driver‘s negligence, over speeding, overtaking, drunk-driving, obstruction by animals and overloading among others, according to police source. The poor condition of roads has also contributed to the accidents. Accidents take place on a daily basis but they receive relatively little attention compared to other political development and incidents. Former Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport, Tulasi Prasad Sitaula said, "Hundreds of people are killed, critically injured or disabled every year in road accidents. The accidents, however, have received less attention from both policy makers and the public.”

Weak Regulation

Not that the government has not identified the causes and consequences of road accidents. The government has listed the major problems, risks and challenges related to road safety in its "Nepal Road Safety Action Plan 2013-2020” introduced by the Department of Roads (DoR). Some of the major problems related to road safety identified by the plan are: driver‘s negligence, roads and bridges without walkways and other required road safety features, narrow bridge approaches, poor visibility at blind corners, unforgiving side-drains, inadequate safety barriers at steep vertical drops, unscientific location of passing bays in single lane roads, lack of climbing lanes, very steep gradients at numerous sections, drunk-driving, random roadside parking, reckless pedestrian crossing, poor road conditions and lack of awareness of traffic rules by stakeholders among others. The number of accidents and the death toll however has remained unchanged even after the action plan came into effect. What is the reason for the rising number of accidents? Spokesperson for Nepal Police, DIG Madhav Prasad Joshi opines that a multi-stakeholder cooperation is required to minimise fatal road accidents. "The police alone cannot ensure safety in all aspects of road movement.” The government has been unable to curb accidents by taking stringent measures. As a result, road traffic has been poorly maintained and transport entrepreneurs have not abided by the laws.

Economic Loss from Road Accident

In addition to the direct costs of road injuries and deaths, road accidents cause a wider economic impact. The economic loss from road accidents in Nepal is estimated to be higher than 0.5 percent of the GDP, according to Sitaula. "The rising number of accidents results in worsening situation of many families,” Sitaula said, adding that the entire family finds itself in trouble if the breadwinner is maimed in an accident. Currently, the family of a deceased person gets Rs 100,000 as compensation which is not even sufficient to perform the last rites, Sitaula said, adding that the government should increase the compensation. The human suffering for the victims and their families is incalculable, he said. "Compensation is just one way to provide immediate relief but the best way is to minimise the number of accidents by taking stringent measures,” he added.

Syndicate and Cartel

Another reason to worry is that Nepal‘s transport sector is crippled by anti-competition practices such as syndicates, cartels and price-fixing. According to a research report prepared by Sambridhi, The Prosperity Foundation, some anti-competition practices in public transport include barriers to new entrants, barriers to expansion, barriers to full-scale operation, and price-fixing. What is stopping the government from controlling accidents after knowing the reason? It is a lack of political will and the syndicates among transport entrepreneurs, according to Sitaula. The government appears helpless before transport entrepreneurs, claims Jyoti Baniya, Chairman of the Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights. In fact, transport entrepreneurs control regulatory jobs, he said, adding that things that should be under the control of regulatory bodies are controlled by transport associations. It is an appalling reality that transport syndicates decide most of the regulatory functions including issuing route permits, setting quotas and fixing transport fares.

Road Condition

Poor road condition is also one of the major reasons for the alarming rise in road-accident deaths. As many as 65, 92 and 35 accidents were caused by road conditions in fiscal years - 2013/14, 2014/14 and 2015/16 respectively, according to data maintained by Nepal Police. Road conditions across the country are in a sorry state. They become slippery in the rainy season and many vehicles skid off the road leading to accidents. Many roads are not properly maintained. The momentum of construction of major roads is at snail‘s pace. Contractors and government officials‘ work hand in glove, blamed Baniya. "The road condition would have been much better if there was no corruption and construction took place at a smooth pace”, he said.

Tax collection

Imports of vehicles and their parts has become one of Nepal‘s largest source of revenue over the past few years. The government collected as much as Rs 43.61 billion in import duty and taxes in 2014-15 from auto and auto parts, according to the Department of Customs (DoC). Vehicle imports comprise a large part of revenue collected from the customs offices. Besides, vehicle owners contribute to road maintenance and other taxes as well. Despite the huge tax contribution, the government puts their grievances in the backburner. Vehicle owners who are not included in the transport syndicate and private vehicle owners suffer the most. High tax and poor service delivery perfectly characterise Nepal‘s transport sector. Now is the time that the government should seriously revise its efforts.