Over-speeding has been identified as the leading cause of road accidents in Nepal, according to the latest analysis by Nepal Police.

Spokesperson for Nepal Police and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Binod Ghimire said that an assessment of road accidents over the past month revealed that a majority of them were caused by excessive speed.

A total of 2,922 road accidents occurred across the country in the review month, of which 1,450 were attributed to over-speeding. The second major cause was drunk driving, followed by accidents that occurred while crossing roads, overtaking, and lane violations, the police said.

“Most of these accidents involved motorcycles, indicating that riding motorcycles at high speed is particularly dangerous,” DIG Ghimire said. “It is imperative not to drive motorcycles at excessive speeds.”

According to Nepal Police, motorcycles were involved in 56.57 percent of the accidents recorded in mid-June to mid-July (Asar). Out of the total 4,428 vehicles involved in accidents during the review period, 2,505 were motorcycles.

Jeeps and cars accounted for 17.23 percent of accidents, followed by trucks and tankers at 6.46 percent, and buses at 4.43 percent. All these vehicles were involved in the total of 2,922 recorded accidents.

The report further revealed that 239 people lost their lives in road accidents in the review month. Among the deceased were 186 men, 36 women, and 17 children. Additionally, 625 individuals sustained injuries, DIG Ghimire said.