Sunsari Data shows that the main causes of road accidents in Koshi province are driver negligence, speeding and violation of traffic rules. According to the details of the current fiscal year 2082/83 up to June 15, there were 6,150 vehicle accidents in the province, 421 people lost their lives, 735 people were seriously injured and 9,529 people were slightly injured.
According to the data of the Koshi Province Traffic Police Office, 1,715 accidents have occurred due to driver negligence alone. Similarly, 2,667 accidents occurred due to speeding, 546 accidents due to passenger’s mistakes, 425 accidents due to drunkenness and 266 accidents due to mechanical problems of vehicles. In addition, 281 accidents occurred due to road conditions, 149 due to overtaking, 49 due to four-wheelers, 17 due to overload and 35 due to bad weather. Statistics confirm that human error is the main culprit of accidents.
Superintendent of Police of Koshi Province Traffic Police Office Deepak Giri informed that most of the accidents were caused due to inattention of the driver, neglect of speed control and non-observance of traffic rules.
Three main districts of the province have become the center of accidents. Most accidents occurred in Morang 2 thousand 143, Jhapa 1 thousand 453 and Sunsari 1 thousand 398. About 80 percent of accidents in the state are concentrated in these three districts alone. In terms of human losses, 111 people lost their lives in Morang, 114 in Sunsari and 73 in Jhapa.
According to Traffic Police Superintendent Giri, increasing traffic volume, rapid urbanization, speeding of vehicles, lack of road discipline and carelessness of drivers are increasing the risk of accidents on East-West Highway, Koshi Folk Road and urban roads. Especially in Morang, Sunsari and Jhapa where there is a lot of vehicular traffic, effective traffic management and rule enforcement are essential to reduce accidents. Giri said that even though they are working in coordination with various agencies, it is not enough.
The data indicates that with the increase in the number of roads and the number of vehicles, if the driver’s behavior is not improved, traffic rules are strictly enforced, regular vehicle testing and road safety infrastructure are not strengthened, the rate of accidents may increase.
The traffic police urged the drivers to control the speed, not to drive recklessly, to fully comply with the traffic rules and to conduct regular technical inspection of the vehicles and said that public awareness and strict monitoring will be made more effective to reduce accidents. But Giri says that it is challenging due to the mentality that the task of reducing accidents is only for the traffic police.