Study on Emirates Railway project given a go-ahead :: WAM
One benefit would be getting many of the trucks off the highways. This is especially valuable given that most of the truck stock in the UAE is poorly maintained and even newer trucks used here are not capable of the acceleration and speeds that, say, trucks in Europe are capable of.
Speed kills, yes. But variance kills, too. I don't know if a railroad is a practical answer to the problem of trucks on UAE highways. I do know that aged, overloaded trucks are cheap and will continue to be used until government says no, we value human life more than the savings from using unsafe trucks.
UPDATE: Gulfnews: Truckers pin blame on cars. I blame variance.
07 December, 2005
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3 comments:
Don't know about trucks, since at the end the big business will complain and who wants that in the UAE?
But atleast the traffic will be better on the streets if the railway and the law to ban cars that are 10-12 years old go in effect.
slagother:
i didnt want to write a detailed law in my post. In anycase, a car that is 20 years old should be taxed a lot higher if the owner still wants to drive due to the enviromental effect, plus to reduce the number of old cars on the street. Though a special status for classic cars should also be considered.
Related to the comments:
Tehran Municipality not responsible for air pollution: mayor
Tehran's Air Quality Control Unit said the Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) -- a standard measurement incorporating carbon monoxide, dust, and other pollutants -- has hovered around the "very unhealthy" level of 160 for several days, AFP reported.
Such alerts are becoming increasingly common, with increased traffic causing the sprawling city's air to be deemed unhealthy for at least 100 days of the year. This week the situation is worse due to a total lack of wind.
Many of the two million plus vehicles in the city of 10 million are more than 20 years old and consume cheap subsidized petrol at an alarming rate. Private car ownership has also exploded, with the public transport system failing to provide adequate coverage.
The government has proposed various steps to resolve the problem, such as phasing out the old cars and restricting vehicle use on certain days of the week -- but so far none have been effectively applied.
I blame George Bush.
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