Better late than never

Whenever a festival season starts, there are many road accidents resulting in death and injury to travellers. So we have to hear sad news during every festival season. The higher the number of people’s movement, the higher the chances of accidents. This year was no exception.
There can be various causes for road accidents like driver’s negligence and damage to the road, like damaged pavement, wet pavement, oil spills and so forth. The weather plays a role up to some extent as well. However, we first blame the bus company, drivers and conductors for carrying an unlimited number of passengers. Yes, drivers are responsible to a great degree for the carnage on the highways, but have we ever given a thought that passengers too must bear some of the responsibility? Passengers always seem to be in a hurry. They prefer sitting dangerously on the roof of the bus instead of waiting for the next one.

Yes, there are a limited number of buses available on the roads of Nepal, but if passengers decide to make travel safe, that could be the best way to minimise accidents. Again, if the driver decides to make travel safe, it is we passengers who shout, “At this speed, we will reach our destination tomorrow! Is the driver new? Why is the bus moving so slowly?”

It is true that bus owners work for money, but why should we be conservative regarding it? We rather want the cheapest service because the ultimate goal is to reach our destination.

So we want the service at the cheapest price possible. We don’t think that bus owners have to feed the drivers, pay the salaries of other people involved in the transport company, pay for gasoline, and also earn some money to reach their breakeven point. No one will work at a loss. So, if we are all ready to pay Rs 100 more for better service for every Rs 500 of the ticket price, that would not compel bus owners to engage in such cheap activities.

A lot of eyes get attracted towards news about deaths of people due to road accidents the next day after the disaster. But when it is time to go somewhere, we won’t mind getting into an overcrowded bus or sitting on the roof top. Let us first raise a strong voice and say no to unsafe travel. How can these buses go against us? All they need are passengers, and all we want is safe travel. It is not that they prefer accidents, because in the event of a mishap, they will lose their bus and they will have to pay compensation to the injured and the families of the dead passengers. So when both the parties don’t want any sort of accidents, why do we hesitate to pay a few more rupees for safe travel? May the dead people’s souls rest in peace. May their family members get enough strength to deal with this particular situation.


Published in The Kathmandu Post dated 29th October 2014, under 'Post Platform'