It is sad to note that Nepal witnesses a significant increase in the number of highway and road accidents every year. As per the data maintained by the Nepal Police, as many as 13,000 road accidents were reported across the country in 2019. More than 2,700 people lost their lives while over 10,700 others sustained serious injuries in those mishaps. With the rise in the number of vehicles, road accidents are going up at an alarming rate annually. Careless driving, overspeeding, bad condition of roads, and old and rickety vehicles are some of the major causes leading to vehicular accidents. More road mishaps associated with drunk driving have been recorded in the country over the past two years as the traffic cops have failed to check the condition of drivers due to the fear of the transmission of COVID-19. Keeping the vehicles in good condition and abiding by traffic rules are key to minimising road accidents. Drivers need to pay due attention to traffic signs and warnings to prevent possible accidents.

Such signs include notices about lane transition, intersections, pedestrian crossing, divided road, speed bump, narrowed road and roundabouts. Thus, road signs and traffic signals can ensure safe driving conditions. Installation of traffic lights and their regular maintenance is also necessary for ensuring road safety. Such devices can play a crucial role in the flow of traffic, especially in the urban centres where the movement of vehicles is much higher as compared to the rural areas. Traffic lights can be instrumental in preventing or reducing the cases of vehicle crash and collisions in the roads. Besides, they ensure the safety of pedestrians crossing the road. They can also have the same share of the road without being concerned about their safety. The drivers who strictly follow traffic signals can save the lives of many people. Even the pedestrians are required to adhere to all the traffic rules and traffic lights to ensure road safety.

It is needless to mention that the Kathmandu Valley has become a major road accident-prone area. In 2020-21, the valley recorded about 9,550 accidents with over 165 fatalities. Most of the road mishaps took place because of reckless driving. As per a news report carried by this daily on Monday, about 33 out of the total of 100 traffic lights installed in different junctions of the valley have remained dysfunctional over the past one month. Such lights have not been functional even at major junctions like Jadibuti, Koteshwar, Thapathali and Kamalpokhari where the pressure of vehicles is very high. This has forced the traffic police to go for manual traffic management. It has also put additional burden on the traffic management system. The overcrowded valley undergoes this type of situation time and again.

However, the officials involved in the traffic management often claim that they were working to introduce smart traffic lights across the valley for managing the rapidly increasing number of vehicles. There is also a plan to install the Intelligent Traffic Light System (ITLS) in all the junctions in the valley. The problem exists because of a lack of coordination between the Metropolitan Traffic Police Division (MTPD) and the Department of Roads (DoR). The MTPD deploys police personnel at the key junctions to manage the flow of vehicles while the DoR's responsibility is to install traffic lights and carry out their maintenance regularly. The two agencies must work together to deal with the challenges related to traffic management.