DK wrote: "We can reduce it but cannot eliminate. Actually, it is so easy to analyze and critisize." ********** This thread is here, with your cooperation, to keep a running public record of highway accidents that take place in Nepal AND that are reported on either Kantipuronline or Nepalnews. [Of course, there may be many other similar accidents do not get reported at all.] As a concerned citizen, I may have some ideas as to why these highway fatalities occur in what appears to be with a mind-numbing regularity. Others may have other ideas about how to make our highways safer. But for now -- between 11 October 2004 and 10 January 10 -- let's collect quarterly data, and, then let our conclusions and further work be based on what those preliminary data tell us. I have certainly no idea where all these will lead to, except to hope that, in the short run, more of us become aware of this problem and are sufficiently motivated to do something about it. Yes, needless highway fatalities is a serious problem in Nepal. But, first, we need to figure out just how serious a problem it is before any of us proposes to do anything concrete to help reduce the number of accidents. And so, this period of patience, data-gathering and collecting news is important to start thinking about the issue more seriously. Sadly, raw emotions and righteous indignation alone will not help us address this issue. oohi ashu