TALK-PROGRAMME ON " ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND THEIR PREVENTION "

As announced earlier, a talk-program on "Road Traffic Accidents and their Prevention" was organized on 25.10.1998. Despite being on the last day of a long vacation, the turnout of the participants was impressive. It is learned that during the last year alone, 907 person lost their lives due to road accidents in Nepal. The problem is very serious as this has been causing the country a loss of more than 0.40% of its the GDP. It is also learned that in Nepal 60% of the accidents involve pedestrian and Motorcycles are the most accident prone vehicles. Furthermore, the length of available roads andthe motor vehicles on them do not match. If all the vehicles in Nepal were parked to form a queue, all the available roads will becompletely covered!

The speaker Mr. Sunil Poudyal studied Traffic Planning as a part of his masters' course at University of Hannover. After his return from Germany, he has been working in the newly established Traffic Engineering and Safety Unit within the Department of Roads in Nepal.

It is really nice to know that Mr. Poudyal has been using the knowledge that he gained in Germany to prevent accident here. In addition some new accident remedial measures, for example, the Gabion safety barrier, has been designed to suit our road conditions. Being on a common topic, the talk-program was very well received by participants. It was followed by a lengthy but interesting question and answer session.

Dr Prakash Pradhan chaired the program and Mr. Rajendra Adhikari did the moderation. Ms. Roshani Karmacharya delivered a vote of thanks. Some refreshments were served at the end. The participants were asked to write their comments on a feedback-sheet. They have made some suggestions to change the time and venue of the program. Everybody agrees on one thing though - to organize similar programs on a regular basis. What do you suggest, one such program every month?

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