What More, "have heard the argument made again and again that our hilly terrain makes for poor, and inefficient road construction. there is the perennial danger of pahiro + the roads themselves are not "sturdy" (don't know how else to put it, me no engineer). how true is this? i mean, aren't there ways around it? maybe, it is too expensive?" Let me try to answer as a non-engineer person hai. It is a no brainer that our mountainous terrain makes road construction a challenging task. Geologically speaking our mountains are weak and young bhanchan kyare, tyo Indian plate pani still pushing northward, and therefore more prone to landslides. The terrain itself, however, can not be entirely blamed for landslides. Human induced factors such as deforestation, quarrying, and other activities also have their share. The roads also may not have been built with adequate measures (such as retaining walls, regulation of flow of water etc) to prevent landslides. It seems like the infamous Krishnabhir was finally brought into control, and the Prithvi Highway did not suffer any closure this monsoon. "would it be less fatal if the roads were closer to the rivers than they currently are? " May be not, except for the lighter impact when the vehicle falls down. Unless the rivers are properly trained, erosion and flooding can endanger the roads. Furthermore, landslides do occur mostly from above the road. "would widening of the roads decrease these accidents substantially?" Widening of roads itself is not a complete solution. Enforcement of speed control and other regulations as well as installation of safety devices (such as guard rails, reflectors and lamps, curve signs, speed limit signs, signs advising approach to bridges or congested areas etc) must be done concurrently with the widening of roads for safer driving conditions.