Last Friday, August 23, a passenger bus carrying Indian pilgrims en route from Pokhara to Kathmandu veered off the road and crashed on the banks of the Marsyangdi River. At least 27 passengers, all Indian citizens, were killed, and over a dozen were injured.
Less than six weeks ago, on July 12, two passenger buses were swept into the swollen Trishuli River by a mudslide at Simaltal, along the Narayangarh-Mugling section of the Prithvi Highway. Rescuers recovered 25 bodies, but the whereabouts of around 40 passengers, including Indian citizens, remain unknown. Both buses are still missing.
These incidents are just a few examples of the unsafe roads in Nepal, which claim thousands of lives in the Himalayan nation. Every year, hundreds of passenger vehicle crashes in Nepal leave occupants with injuries and trauma that largely go unnoticed unless there is a mass fatality.
According to Nepal Police, over 24,000 Nepalis have lost their lives in road crashes over the past decade, with more than 50,000 others seriously injured during the same period. Nepali authorities report that around seven people die in road crashes every day. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the number to be much higher. The number of road injury patients treated in health facilities under the Ministry of Health and Population is also significant.
WHO data shows that the estimated fatality rate in 2016 was 15.9 per 100,000 population—nearly double the official estimate. Of further concern, the rate surged to 28.2 per 100,000 in 2021. Vulnerable road users, such as pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists, accounted for about 61 percent of all road fatalities in 2021, with pedestrians making up half of this number. Road deaths disproportionately affect the young, working-age population, with approximately 40 percent of those killed on Nepal’s roads being under 26 years old. Transport injuries are the leading cause of death among men aged 15 to 49.
Thousands of families in Nepal are pushed below the poverty line due to road crashes, either from the loss of the family breadwinner or the burden of high medical costs. These crashes also hinder economic growth, costing the economy between 3 to 5 percent of GDP annually, according to studies.
Recognizing the need for increased efforts from member states lagging in road safety management, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a new resolution on improving road safety in June 2024.
What is the government doing?
In 2013, the government of Nepal adopted the Road Safety Action Plan, which was revised in 2021. In 2016, the government formed an ad hoc National Road Safety Council (NRSC) to reduce road accidents and promote safer roads. That same year, the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport began drafting the Road Safety Bill. However, eight years have passed, and the government has yet to send the bill to Parliament, and the National Road Safety Action Plan remains unendorsed. Due to the lack of a legal framework, the Council has not been able to gain independent status, authority, or resources. This delay is a missed target of the UN’s Global Plan for Road Safety, which was supposed to be met by 2022.
Observers point to acute political instability and a lack of political commitment as major factors hindering Nepal’s road safety agenda. Although a new constitution was adopted in 2015, turning Nepal into a federal system with seven provincial governments, the country has struggled with political instability. While Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been in power since 2014, Nepal has had four different Prime Ministers in the last nine years, often swapping leadership among the same group.
“Besides political instability, road safety seems to be nobody’s agenda in Nepal today,” observes Dr Puspa Raj Pant, a researcher on road safety in Nepal who is affiliated to the University of the West of England (UWE), UK. “Bus crashes like the ones we saw in July and August this year make headlines in newspapers and national TVs for a few days, then people largely forget them unless a major crash happens.”
Experts say Nepal could save the lives of its citizens as well as those who travel on its mountainous roads to a great extent by implementing existing laws and regulations.
Nepal has drafted a National Road Safety Strategy and Road Safety Action Plan based on the five pillars of the United Nations Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021– 2030. It includes road safety management; safer roads and mobility; safer vehicles; safer road users; and post-crash response. “However, only limited progress has been made on addressing these pillars and consequently Nepal is facing serious road safety challenges,” said a study entitled ‘Delivering Road Safety in Nepal’ published by The World Bank in 2020.
“Poor road safety performance in Nepal is a symptom of underinvestment in targeted initiatives. It is estimated that Nepal will require an additional investment of USD 879 million over the coming decade, if it is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 3.6 target of a 50 percent reduction in national road crash fatalities,” said The World Bank study. “It will take long-term commitment and sustained vision from the Government of Nepal for this investment to be effective and bring road safety performance under control on a sustainable basis. Initiatives taken must be systematic, at scale and properly sequenced, with institutional capacity being strengthened, to ensure successful delivery.” In fact, a rigorous evaluation of the infrastructure development plan, construction and operation will be needed to ensure the standards are met.
The downward spiral
As per the WHO’s recent Global Road Safety Status Report, the world witnessed a 5 percent decrease in the absolute number of deaths due to road crashes compared to a decade ago. While 108 countries reported a decline between 2 percent and 50 percent, Nepal saw a 77 percent increase due to failed actions. The target of reducing road fatalities by 50 percent by 2030 seems far from reality, according to researchers.
“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,” say Dr Pant and Bhagabati Sedain, another researcher on road safety and injury prevention.
The World Bank study also argued that scaled-up road safety investment will contribute to the accumulation of human capital in Nepal, which in turn will contribute to sustainable and inclusive economic growth and overall country wealth. “Road safety initiatives must be inclusive of all road users and roadside communities and places, especially of those users that are most vulnerable and least protected in their road environments. Inclusive road user policies and integrated land use/transport planning and place-making are necessary to ensure urban and rural roads are safe and accessible for all road users in Nepal,” the study said.
Unfortunately, Nepali authorities continue to behave as if nothing has happened. There is less chance of improvement in the road safety record in the country unless Nepali citizens themselves demand and push for safer roads for all road users. Moreover, such negligence is in contradiction to people’s constitutional right to life and against the nation’s own commitments expressed at various global fora.
(The author is a former BBC journalist and a researcher on road safety.)
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