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Comment on It took years to come up with a plan to cut road deaths, and just 11 days to kill it

I’ll be honest, I’m more interested in speed limits and road design within cities than I am in rural areas. But this is still a major loss for evidence-based policy. We’re not talking lowering the speed limit on major highways, just on minor, often poorly maintained, rural roads.

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Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨2⁩ ⁨days⁩ ago
The first comment I see when I look at the comments on the article is particularly upsetting:

Meanwhile truck crashes kill an average of one person each week in NSW and seriously injure 5 others. What is most iniquitous about this situation is that the majority of those killed and injured in truck crashes are other road users. For example, of the people killed in fatal truck crashes in 2021, approximately 50 per cent were occupants in a light vehicle, 25 per cent were occupants in the heavy truck and 25 per cent were other road users (pedestrians, motorcyclists or pedal cyclists). Many would regard this situation as unethical. Others would say that such disregard for human suffering is a mortal sin given that a far safer alternative – the railways – already exists but has been largely abandoned in favor of heavily subsidized road freight.

Australian data shows that a high proportion of heavy vehicles exceed speed limits on both open and urban roads. It is estimated that if all heavy vehicles complied with speed limits, there would be a 29% reduction in truck crashes. Australian Design Rule (ADR) 65 — Maximum Road Speed Limiting for Heavy Goods Vehicles and Heavy Omnibuses - specifies the devices or systems used to limit the maximum road speed of heavy vehicles. Unfortunately, there is evidence that speed limiters are frequently disabled. Speed controllers, much more effective at controlling truck speeds, are readily available devices that prevent trucks from exceeding a maximum speed under all road conditions, downhill included.

The problem is not just the roads.

Why we use trucks for freight as much we do is beyond me. Any route that sees more than 2 road trains per day should be served by rail. And maybe we could improve our passenger rail while we’re at it.

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- hanrahan@slrpnk.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  
  Why we use trucks for freight as much we do is beyond me.
  
  Tony Abbott had Lindsay Fox “toys” on his prime ministerial book shelves as an examplw.
  
  Why ? becase we keep.voting for politcans who have little interst in rail or oublic tranzport in general.
  
  Even when we do something belated, like the Inland.Rail project, it doesn’t go to the port in Brisbane, nor carries in to port of Gladstone but ends in teucking depot in Brisbane.
  
  As many people were killed by traffic murders on the day of the Boncli shootings as by gun.
  
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  - Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨19⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    
    As many people were killed by traffic murders on the day of the Boncli shootings as by gun.
    
    Fuck that’s a good stat to have. Do you have a good source I can use to point to it?
    
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    Ixoid@aussie.zone ⁨7⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago
    There will be no source provided, except “Trust me, bro”, because is not true. Unless OP meant globally…
    
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- TheHolm@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
  Rail is bloody expensive to build and to maintain. Not to mention that you still need trucks to deliver from train station to the destination. Trucks makes much more sense.
  
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  - Zagorath@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    
    and to maintain
    
    Absolutely untrue. Rail is insanely cheap to maintain, compared to roads. Especially roads taking heavy freight. The amount of damage a car does to the road increases by the 4th power of its weight. Meaning Carey twice the weight, do 16 time the damage to the road.
    
    Plus, they can take much, much higher volumes of cargo. One train can carry as much as 4 road trains and not even be an especially noteworthy freight train. So operation costs are lower.
    
    And they’re safer, since rails are not shared with cars and are a more controlled route.
    
    Yes, upfront costs are higher, but after that it’s literally all wins.
    
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    TheHolm@aussie.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago
    Very often you do not need “higher volumes of cargo.” And you still need trucks to get cargo from train to final destination. Rail is dead for a reason.
    
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