With a growing number of people killed and injured in road accidents each year, countless families are plunged into permanent psychological trauma. The government and political parties demonstrate little sensitivity to the problem and the pain it produces. At a time when financial compensation is too meager, if available at all, greater compassion could provide a therapeutic touch.
By KESHAB POUDEL
A two-year-old girl who survived a bus accident on March 3 is living at the orphanage run by Nepal Children Association. The child’s parents were killed when the bus they were travelling on veered off Prithvi highway and plunged into the Trisuli River. On its way to Kathmandu from Lahan, the vehicle collided with a bus coming from the capital. The girl’s parents were among the 11 passengers killed in the accident.
A truck skids off the road : Recurring incident
A truck skids off the road : Recurring incident
The situation of the 35 passengers injured in the tragedy was pathetic as well. Some are still undergoing treatment at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital and Bir Hospital. Although people gradually forget about such accidents as they recede from the news, many survivors are condemned to a life of permanent disability. Relatives of victims are forced to relive the tragedy in different ways. The aftermath of the calamity is particularly harsh on children.
Clause 51 of Nepal Transport Management Regulation requires every bus operator to prepare a list of passengers, along with their complete address, and hand it over to the nearest police station. In practice, hardly any operator follows the rule.
Part of the problem is procedural. With the escalation of Maoist violence in recent years, many police posts along busy highways have been abandoned. Few transport entrepreneurs and workers consider it important submit their list of the passengers to the police.
In the absence of passenger records, officials have difficulty identifying the dead and child survivors. Confronted with a low probability of establishing victims’ identities, police simply cremate the bodies.
Children who have survived road accidents can recover from their injuries under proper medical supervision. But a far worse crisis awaits them after recuperation. Images of tragedy imprint themselves in different ways in children, often giving way to a profound identity crisis in later years.
Compensation for Victims
The Transport Management Act and Transport Management Regulation 1998 have clearly spelled out the need to compensate passengers and transport workers, including drivers, helpers and conductors, in case of accidents.
A Bus mishape : Inflicts untold miseries
A Bus mishape : Inflicts untold miseries
According to Clause 53(1) of the regulation, transport entrepreneurs are required to insure each passenger with a minimum premium of Rs.50, 000 for death and injury. Transport entrepreneurs have to pay compensation for those travelling in additional seats as well. Clause 53(2) makes it mandatory for transport entrepreneurs to pay the equivalent of the minimum insured money.
In practice, however, few survivors and relatives of victims receive insurance payment. “We are providing premium for Rs.50,000 for passengers, but they are not getting the insurance money,” says Hom Prasad Adhikary, former general secretary of the Federation of Nepalese Transport Entrepreneurs and executive chairman of Nepal National Transport Service. “In India, passengers get insurance money at the accident spot. Despite having been insured under a similar policy, Nepalese passengers and transport workers are unable to obtain compensation. The government must amend the regulations so that those entitled to insurance payments receive the money without hassles.”
Following the implementation of the act, drivers and transport workers receive minimum insurance in case of accidents. According to the regulation, owners are required to insure drivers of heavy vehicles with a minimum premium of Rs 150,000. Helpers, conductors, checkers and other employees must be covered with a minimum premium of Rs. 100,000.
“Every transport entrepreneur has to pay insurance premium for passengers, drivers and other workers. Because of ambiguous legal provisions, however, it is very difficult for them to get insurance money in the event of an accident,” says Sarad Upreti, president of Nepal National Truck Entrepreneurs Association. “Since we have been paying premium to insurance companies, it is the duty of the government to make provisions to ensure payment to passengers at the accident spot.”
For drivers, conductors and other employees of light vehicles, owners must provide a minimum insurance coverage of Rs.100,000. Under the Transport Management Act and Regulations, entrepreneurs are required to insure both passengers and drivers. In reality, the situation is quite the opposite. Hardly any passenger gets insurance money for medical treatment and rehabilitation. “Because of lapses in the act and regulations, passengers and transport workers have to work hard to get their minimum insurance,” says Upreti. “In most cases, the passengers and drivers get nothing.”
Since drivers and transport workers maintain unity and are part of influential associations, they are more likely to get insurance money than passengers are. Although existing rules and regulations contain mandatory provisions for passenger insurance, they are not implemented in accordance with the spirit of the law. “The government has made all necessary legal provisions to safeguard the interests of passengers,” says Chhabi Lal Panta, director-general of Department of Transport Management. “The act and regulations have made the insurance system compulsory. If there are lapses in the law and regulations, the government will consider them seriously.”
Whose Responsibility?
Accidents cannot be controlled through the efforts of a single authority. Prevention efforts consist of three Es — engineering, education and enforcement. Road and mechanical features of vehicles are part of engineering. Traffic awareness comes under education. Implementation of rules and regulations is the responsibility of the enforcement authorities.
Most accidents in Nepal are a result of poor traffic awareness, experts say. The enforcement and engineering aspects have received serious attention. However, there is insufficient awareness about rules and regulations among motorists and pedestrians. If drivers and pedestrians followed traffic signals and signs and operated their vehicles in accordance with the recommendations of the manufacturers, experts point out, more than 80 percent of accident could be prevented.
“The drivers often ignore the traffic signals and signs. In many cases, vehicles are found exceeding the speed limit prescribed by road engineering,” says Sunil Poudyal, an engineer with the Traffic Engineering and Safety Unit of the Department of Roads. “The highway signs clearly mention a speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour, but drivers just don’t slow down.” Roads and highways have been built following certain engineering standards. If drivers do not follow them, accidents become inevitable.
Social and Psychological Trauma
Human psychology is also responsible for road accidents. Human beings have a tendency toward adventurism. “Driving is also part of adventurism. Even when they see danger signs and natural hurdles on the road, drivers don’t feel like slowing down,” says Dr. Niranjan Upadhyaya, a psychologist.
Road accidents trigger greater psychological trauma among victims’ relatives. “For the people at large, accidents keep on happening. But the psychological blow to the families of victims is enormous,” says Dr.
Upadhyaya. “A death in the family triggers long-term social, cultural and other forms of trauma. If victims sustain serious injuries, the social and other costs simply become unbearable.”
At the Nepal Children Association orphanage, the two-year-old girl is still searching for her parents, totally unaware that they are dead. Annually, hundreds of children lose their parents in accidents. A large number of others are forced to see their parents suddenly become disabled.
“The child could not sleep for two whole nights, but she is gradually adapting to her new environment,” says a worker at the association. “She will adapt to the situation soon, but once she start questioning herself, then things will become tragic.”
According to a study conducted by Poudyal, annual loss from road accidents amounts to about Rs. 594 million. Rs 139 million is lost in Kathmandu valley alone. Annual loss from fatal accidents is equivalent to Rs. 299,465. Loss from injuries is about Rs. 65,509.
During fiscal year 2057\58, altogether 608 passengers were killed in road accidents, with 2,543 cases of injuries. Kathmandu recorded the highest casualty rate of 47 deaths and 550 injuries, followed by 44 deaths and 51 injuries in Rupandehi.
Most of the people injured in road accidents require primary treatment and recover within a few months. But some passengers are forced to live with life-long disability. “Although many people injured in accidents tend to have orthopedic problems, which require months of treatment, some need surgical removal of body parts,” says Dr. Ram Prasad Shrestha, former director of Bir Hospital. “The danger of serious injury always exists in road accidents.”
On most highways, the injured do not get emergency treatment close to the accident site. In most of the cases, passengers have to be taken more than 100 kilometer away from the accident site, which takes at least three to four hours of driving. As a result, some passengers die simply because they cannot get primary treatment in time.
“The government is planning to develop certain primary health care facilities, including those providing ambulance service to the needy,” says an official at the Ministry of Health. “The government is working on a plan to develop Bharatpur Hospital as a central hospital to treat people injured in accidents.
The Kathmandu-Naubise-Mugling-Narayanghat sector is the most prone to accidents, but the government has not built primary health care centers along the highway. “There is an urgent need for medical dispensaries and primary health-care centers close to the roads,” says Adhikary.
Number of Vehicles and Accidents
The rise in the number of vehicles has raised the risk of accidents. According to the Department of Transport Management, about 329,856 vehicles were registered in the country by the end of 2001. At 195,118 units, motorcycles represent the largest group. Cars\jeeps\vans come second with 61,239. There are 11,211 buses, 3,227 minibuses, 22,258 trucks and tankers, 7,134 tempos, 25,463 tractors and 3,848 other vehicles. Bagmati alone has 185,460 vehicles, the highest among the kingdom’s 14 zones, of which 123,865 are motorcycles. Narayani zone is in second place with 57,035 vehicles. The registration of buses, trucks, tankers and tractors is the highest in Narayani zone. At 1,549, Rapti zone has the lowest number of registered vehicles.
Over the last decade, there has been a five-fold increase in the number of vehicles in Nepal. In 1989\1990, there were only 76,378 vehicles, including 32,776 motorcycles. The number of cars\jeeps\vans was 23,050. By fiscal year 2000\2001, 29,291 new motorcycles and 5,152 cars\jeeps\vans were registered.
According to a study, the three cities of Kathmandu valley have a combined 1,319 km of roads, including 702 km black-topped pavements, 289.5 km of gravel track and 327.20 km of rough lane. Among the three districts, Kathmandu has 804 km of roads, which includes 493 black-topped tracks, 171.5 km gravel roads and 139.20 trails.
According to a study on accident casualties in Nepal during fiscal year 1999\2000 by the Design Branch of Department of Roads, there were 38 deaths per 1,000 km. There were 15,905 km of roads across the country during the period. The study recorded the highest number of deaths per 1000 km in Baglung, followed by Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Dhading and Gorkha. Baglung, which has 33 km of roads, recorded seven deaths and 22 injuries.
Kathmandu district, which has 804 km roads, recorded 47 deaths and 597 injuries. Lalitpur district, which has 338 km of roads, saw 18 deaths and 156 injuries. Bhaktapur had the lowest number of deaths and injuries in road accidents.
Over the last two months, the country has seen four major accidents, including one on February 20 at the Mugling-Narayanghat highway that killed 41 passengers on the spot and seriously injured seven. The bus, on its way to the hills, 500 km east of Kathmandu, fell into the river. The second accident occurred on March 3 at Charaudi in Kathmandu-Mugling road, killing nine on the spot and injuring 42. The next day another bus fell into Valami of Gulmi district, killing 11 and injuring 27. On March 8 a truck accident at Amaragadhi in Dadeldhura, 700 km west of Kathmandu, killed three and injured 23.
According records of the Valley Traffic Police Office, there were 205 accidents in Kathmandu valley in Magh (January 14-February 12), with six deaths, 17 serious injuries and 76 moderate injuries. By March 6, the traffic police registered four more deaths, nine serious injuries and 73 moderate injuries. The traffic police arrested 120 people found driving under the influence of alcohol.
Although vehicle movement was reduced drastically at night, the number of accidents reported was higher during the night with major casualties and fatalities. Most of the accidents in the valley could be prevented through basic vehicle maintenance and greater awareness, experts say. Whether on highways or in the valley’s roads, most accidents occurred in the night when drivers were under the influence of alcohol.
Vulnerable to Accidents
Studies conducted by the Planning and Design Branch of Department of Roads analyzing the data of 1999\2000 have shown that pedestrians are most vulnerable group by casualty class, with 375 minor injuries, 140 serious injuries and 40 deaths. Motorcycles came second, with 330 minor injuries, 90 serious injuries and 20 deaths. Tempos, bicycles, cars, vans, minibuses and buses recorded fewer casualties.
Motorcycles are one of the most vulnerable vehicles in Kathmandu. They comprise 66 percent of vehicles and account for 38 percent of accidents. Cars/jeeps/vans represent 25 percent of vehicles and account for 29 percent of accidents. Trucks and tankers make up the highest percentage in accidents in heavy vehicle movement in Kathmandu. In terms of age, people in the 20-25 years bracket are most vulnerable, followed by the 40-60 years group.
These figures indicate the high economic and social toll taken by road accidents. In most of the accidents, the victims belong to the most economically active age group. This loss undermines the whole family and affects such national indicators as education and income.
Last year, Nepal lost about 500 people in the Maoist insurgency. In fiscal year 2000\2001, however, road accidents claimed 800 lives and injured 3,500. With road accidents happening with such alarming regularity, the country is irretrievably losing social and economic assets that are critical to its future. Moreover, the psychological and social trauma victims’ families are forced to endure haunts their entire life. Whose responsibility is it to prevent road accidents?