By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Sept. 16: Sustained traffic awareness campaigns have helped reduce road accidents in Kathmandu Valley by more than 19 per cent, offering some relief from the continuing human toll of road accident that claim lives and leave thousands injured every year.
The Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office said the decline was recorded alongside intensified awareness programmes aimed at changing the behaviour of motorists, pedestrians and other road users and encouraging greater compliance with traffic rules.
Road accidents, however, remain a serious public safety concern. During fiscal year 2025/26, 5,345 road accidents were recorded in Kathmandu Valley, killing 201 people and injuring 6,040 others, according to traffic police data.
“The figures underline the human cost of unsafe road use. Behind every fatal crash is a family that loses a loved one, while many survivors have to cope with serious injuries, disability, medical expenses and disruption to their livelihoods,” according to Superintendent of Police (SP) and Spokesperson for the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, Naresh Raj Subedi.
Against this backdrop, the Traffic Police have expanded awareness activities beyond busy roads and junctions to communities, schools and colleges.
According to SP Subedi, Spokesperson for the Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office, 10,720 traffic awareness programmes were conducted during the fiscal year 2025/26.
The programmes target different age groups and communities and focus on traffic rules, safe travel, road discipline and responsible road use, he said.
“The main area of responsibility of traffic police is the road. As the road network has expanded across Nepal and people cannot carry out their daily activities without using roads, we have been conducting awareness programmes from roads to communities and from schools to colleges,” Subedi said.
He said road accidents in Kathmandu Valley had recently declined by 19 per cent.
The decline comes amid a broader effort to make road safety a public priority. Traffic police believe that improving people’s behaviour and developing a culture of obeying traffic rules can help prevent crashes and reduce the loss of life.
Nationally, the scale of the problem remains significant. Nepal recorded 29,988 vehicle accidents in fiscal year 2025/26, with an average of about 82 accidents every day and around seven deaths a day, according to data from the annual progress report of the Police Headquarters.
Studies have also highlighted the disproportionate burden of road trauma in Kathmandu Valley. Research on road traffic safety has found that more than half of the accidents recorded in Nepal between 2008 and 2020 occurred in the Valley, while the area also accounted for a significant share of fatal crashes.
The Traffic Police Office said it would make its awareness campaign more effective by continuing to reach road users at the community level.
The police believe that sustained awareness of traffic rules, safe driving and the responsibilities of motorists, pedestrians and other road users can bring the number of accidents further down.
The Rising Nepal
