KATHMANDU, July 22: Nepal faces a staggering average of 97 vehicle accidents per day, resulting in an average of seven fatalities and 88 injuries daily, according to Nepal Police Spokesperson Deputy Inspector General Dan Bahadur Karki.
The country witnessed 35,404 vehicle accidents, claiming 2,368 lives and leaving 6,160 seriously injured, with an additional 25,996 sustaining minor injuries in the last Fiscal Year(FY) 2023/024.
When will it end?
Shockingly, 101 animals also lost their lives in these tragic incidents.
Police statistics reveal that motorcycles and scooters were most frequently involved in accidents last year, with 19,984 incidents reported, followed by cars and jeeps at 6,837, buses at 2,193, bicycles and rickshaws at 1,520, trucks and tankers at 1,468, tempos and magic vans at 1,474, tractors at 783, and microbuses at 400.
In efforts to curb these alarming statistics, traffic police collected a revenue of Rs 1.88 billion from 240,000 traffic operations last year.
Furthermore, 1,711 police personnel faced disciplinary action for misconduct, with police constables being the most affected group.
The disciplinary actions included penalties against three Senior Superintendents of Police, one Superintendent of Police, 11 Deputy Superintendents of Police, 26 Police Inspectors, 16 Senior Deputy Inspectors of Police, 48 Deputy Inspectors of Police, 118 Police Assistant Inspectors, 67 Police Senior Constables, 282 Police Constables, 300 Police Assistant Constables, 764 Police Constables, and 27 Police Office Assistants.
