A majority of the road accidents were caused by reckless driving followed by poor condition of roads. Jajarkot district witnessed one of the most devastating road accidents on November 20, when a bus plunged into Bheri river at Bhurchaur-7, killing 52 people. Survivors said the crash was caused due to reckless driving. Similarly, on the morning of November 29, a bus fell off a cliff at Sahajpur-2 in Kailali district, killing 12 people and injuring 30 others. Once again, the survivors blamed the driver for the disaster.

Another major accident this year took place in Doti district. On October 6, a Dhangadi-bound crashed at Chhatiwan VDC-5, killing 30 people. The road where the accident occurred was in a poor state and the bus was apparently carrying passengers beyond its capacity.  In the wake of the accident, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala had promised that his government would take necessary steps to improve the condition of the roads, discipline drivers and monitor vehicles’ condition as well as passengers’ safety.

However, road accidents caused due to reckless driving continued to take place all across the country. And public transports continued to carry passengers beyond their capacity, risking more casualties.

A study on road accidents conducted by the government shows that 67 percent of automobile accidents in the last three years were caused because of drivers’ error.  Of the 25,782 road accidents reported since 2011, 17,351 were caused because of drivers’ negligence, while 3,884 were linked to over-speeding.

Inside Kathmandu valley, the number of road fatalities witnessed a sudden rise this year. It should be noted that most of the road accidents in the valley this year took place along the recently widened road.

A bus keeled over in the middle of the road at Babarmahal, crushing four motorcycles on the evening of October 13. Three people died and eight others were injured in the incident.

On December 14, a school girl was knocked down by a passenger bus on a zebra crossing at Tinkune. Just a couple of days before the accident, a young woman had died on the same road stretch, when her scooter was mowed down by a truck.

Looking at the pattern of these incidents, it is clear that passengers bus remain vulnerable to accidents outside Kathmandu Valley, while private vehicles, especially motorbikes and scooters, and pedestrians are at high risk of being hit by public vehicles in Kathmandu.

According to a data provided by the traffic authority, the country witnesses 10,000 road accidents in which estimated 1,800 people perish every year.

Experts blame the oversight of government to strictly implement “two-driver” policy on long distance routes and special treatment given to drivers responsible for accidents have made travelling by road unsafe. Whenever an accident happens, transport entrepreneurs’ association gives the driver all the protection

and support until he is released from custody. Syndicate in public transportation sector is also to blame for road accidents, as it impedes competition which means poor service.

Secretary of Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Tulsi Sitaula said they are mulling to develop Road Security Force to conduct patrolling and help minimise accidents. He said they will complete the formation of a detailed plan to curb road accidents by 2015.

“Under immediate actions we will enforce road safety rules strictly and train drivers on traffic safety. The mid-term plan will look into the transportation system and management of roads, while the long-term plan envisages ending syndicate system in transportation sector, among others.”

Superintendent of Police Basanta Kumar Pant of Kathmandu Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) said that they will work in close coordination with public and concerned authorities to curb the accidents. “We will strictly implement lane driving discipline and anti-drunk-driving campaign will be further strengthened in 2015.”

Since October this year, the MTPD has started a campaign against lane violators. In the first three days of the campaign, it booked over a thousand drivers. A majority of traffic lane violation in Kathmandu, SP Pant said  occur in key roads like Kalimati- Thapathali, Maitighar- Singha Durbar-Bhadrakali, Putali Sadak- Krishna Pauroti and Chabhail- Gaushala.