[sustran] SUSTRAN News Flash #29

[Dinesh Mohan]

> 
> 5. PROJECT ON YOUTH ROAD SAFETY IN LAOS: FEEDBACK WANTED
> Save the Children Australia in the Lao PDR is initiating a one year pilot
> project to improve road safety among youth in Vientiane.  Despite a ratio
> of just 1 vehicle for every 26 people, the Lao PDR presently has the
> highest rate of road accident fatalities per capita of any ASEAN country
> except Vietnam.  Solutions will ultimately involve improvements in both the
> driving environment and traffic law enforcement.  But SCA believes a
> significant reduction in road accident fatalities can be made by simply
> increasing knowledge of safe, courteous, legal driving practices among
> young people.  The legal age for driving a motorised vehicle is 18, yet
> people who are obviously younger--sometimes significantly younger--can be
> seen driving motorcycles in Vientiane every day.  SCA's pilot project will
> begin by conducting research to determine what these urban youth already
> know and think about road safety.  This data will then serve as a basis for
> designing educational materials including a safety pamphlet and video, and
> a road safety curriculum for the schools. The project also includes funds
> to assist the government in setting up a computerised database on road
> accidents, and to stage one or more public road safety events.  SCA
> welcomes ideas and suggestions from workers and programs that are trying to
> reduce road accidents in their countries.  [Source and Contact: Dr. Anna
> Gillespie,  Save the Children Australia, PO Box 2783, Vientiane, Lao PDR;
> Tel. (856-21) 31 3837; Fax  (856-21) 41 5432; E-mail:
> scauslao at loxinfo.co.th].


Such efforts have not been particularly useful in the past.  You have to 
first understand the factors associated with road accidents in a 
particular situation.  It is wrong to assume that accidents are taking 
place because children have not been "educated".

					Dinesh




> 
> 6. EXXON HYPOCRISY ON GLOBAL WARMING
> US energy and other corporations conducted a public campaign in the US
> against the global warming treaty prior to the Kyoto conference, arguing
> against developing countries being let off the hook. Exxon was prominent
> among the corporations opposing US commitments to reduce emissions unless
> developing countries also made commitments. However, the Wall St. Journal
> reported in October that Exxon, the world's biggest oil company, had also
> urged developing countries to reject the global warming treaty, because
> environmental controls would hinder their development.  Speaking at the
> 15th World Petroleum Congress in Beijing, Exxon chairman Lee Raymond urged
> developing countries to use more, not less fossil fuels, and said nature
> was to blame for most global warming. Both corporate and environmental
> lobbying efforts on the issue now centre on US Senate ratification of the
> Kyoto Protocol, which requires the US to reduce greenhouse emissions 7%
> below 1990 levels early in the next century.  [Source: Mobilizing the
> Region #154, Tri-State Transportation Campaign: 281 Park Ave. South, 2nd
> Floor, New York, NY 10010; tel. (212) 777-8181; fax (212) 777-8157; E-mail:
> <tstc at tstc.org>; URL: http://www.tstc.org/].
> 
> 7. TRAFFIC "EVAPORATION" STUDY
> The latest edition of New Scientist magazine highlights a forthcoming study
> into the effects of road closures on traffic. The study by researchers led
> by Phil Goodwin of University College London is due out next month but is
> already causing a stir. The draft report suggests that on average 20 per
> cent of the traffic that used a road seems to "evaporate" after the road
> has been closed. The study was commissioned by London Transport and the UK
> Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions. The team analysed
> 60 cases worldwide where roads had been closed (or their ability to carry
> traffic significantly reduced). In some cases up to 60 per cent of the
> traffic vanishes. The examples studied by Goodwin's team were mostly in
> urban areas. In many cases, congestion on neighbouring routes was feared
> but never occurred. But where did the traffic go? The report suggests that
> individuals often have considerable flexibility in their transport choices
> (such as the mode of travel, when to travel, and even whether to travel at
> all). This flexibility allows people to cope with road closures. These
> results imply that there could be much greater scope for traffic restraint
> than has previously been assumed. [Source: "Roadblocks ahead" by Mick
> Hamer, New Scientist, 24 January 1998. URL:  http://www.newscientist.com/
> ns/980124/news.html].
> 
> 8. HUMANE DRIVING
> A driving School with a difference was opened in Berlin. "Verkehr Human"
> teaches drivers to use their vehicles in a way that saves on fuel, produces
> fewer harmful emissions, and respects other road users. It is run by Lothar
> Taubert, a driving instructor who has researched environmentally sound
> driving methods at the Technical University in Berlin. He also encourages
> drivers to say hello to cyclists when stopped at red lights "because the
> cyclist may need a bit of cheering up!" [Source: T&E Bulletin, T&E
> Secretariat, BD de Waterloo, 34, 1000 Bruxelles, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 502
> 9909; Fax: +32 2 502 9908; E-mail: <tande at knooppunt.be>;  Verkehr human
> Fax: +49 30 6981 0011].
> 
> 9. RESOURCES
> a.  NMT News
> NMT News is a newsletter published twice yearly by the Transportation
> Research Board Committee on Non-motorised Transport and Related Issues in
> Developing Countries. The most recent edition of this newsletter (Vol. 4,
> No. 2, Fall/Winter 1997) included (among others) articles on NMT in Peru;
> on the Bicycle Boom in Germany; and on the improvement of cycle carts for
> recyclable waste collection in Santiago de Chile. [Contacts: For
> SUBMISSIONS - Chair of the Editorial Committee, Dharm Guruswamy, Apogee
> Research Inc., 4350 East-West Highway, Suite 600, Bethesda, MD, USA 20814;
> E-mail: guruswam at apogee-us.com; For SUBSCRIPTIONS - Maggie Cusack, NY State
> Department of Transportation, Albany, New York, USA 12232. Tel. +1 518 457
> 8361, Fax. +1 518 457 7535, E-mail: mcusack at gw.dot. state.ny.us].
> 
> b.  Integrated Transport Planning: Beginner's Handbook for Policy Makers,
> Technicians & Citizens
> by the International Institute for Energy Conservation, Transport Program,
> January 1996. [Contact: IIEC-Asia, 8 Sukhumvit Soi 49/9, Bangkok 10110
> Thailand. Tel. +66 2 381 0814, Fax. +66 2 381 0815, E-mail:
> tum at loxinfo.co.th;  OR  IIEC-US, 750 First Street, NE,  Suite 940,
> Washington DC, 20002, USA, Tel. +1 202 842 3388, Fax. +1 202 842 1565,
> E-mail: iiec at iiec.org; URL: http://www.crest.org/clients/iiec].
> 
> c.  Lessons & Practices, No. 11 (Nov. 1997): Urban Transport
> Published by the Operations and Evaluation Department of the World Bank,
> this edition of Lessons & Practices evaluates the World Bank's experiences
> with lending in Urban Transport during the last 20 years. [Contact: OED,
> Tel. +1 202 458 4497, Fax. +1 202 522 3200, E-mail: eline at worldbank.org].
> 
> d.  Heritage Habitat - A Source Book of the Urban Conservation Movement in
> Asia and the Pacific
> Compiled by Khoo Salma Nasution, illustrated by Shibu Dutta, published by
> the Asia & West Pacific Network for Urban Conservation (AWPNUC), November
> 1997. It includes an invaluable directory of information resources and
> contacts. [Contact: AWPNUC Secretariat, 19 Kelawai Road, 10250 Penang,
> Malaysia, Tel/fax. +60 4 226 1358, E-mail: lubisksn at tm.net.my].
> 
> e.  Alternative Transport Policy in Poland
> Discussion paper published in 1997 by the Institute for Sustainable
> Development, ul. Kowicka 31, 02-502 Warszawa, Poland. Fax. +48 22 646 0174.
> 
> f.  Transport Blueprint: National Study for Romania
> 1996, By the environmental organisation, Ecosens. [Contact: Ecosens, Str.
> Paul Greceanu 9, Bl. 20A, Ap.38, Sector 2, 72119 Bucharest, Romania.
> E-mail: office at ecosens.sbnet.ro].
> 
> g.  Sustainable Transport magazine
> The magazine of the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy
> (ITDP). The latest edition (No. 8, Winter 1998) includes articles on
> Budapest, Prague, Managua, South Africa, Tehran, Jakarta and an update on
> the Trans-Israel highway controversy. ITDP "is a non-profit research,
> dissemination and project-implementation agency which seeks to promote the
> use of non-motorised vehicles and the broader implementation of sustainable
> transportation policies worldwide." [Contact: ITDP, 115 W, 30th St, Suite
> 1205, New York, NY 10001, USA. Tel. +1 212 629 8001, Fax. +1 212 629 8033,
> E-mail: mobility at igc.apc.org].
> 
> h.  Transport for the Poor or Poor Transport?
> A General Review of Rural Transport Policy in Developing Countries with
> Emphasis on Low-income Areas,  by John Howe. [Contact: International Labour
> Organisation publications, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland].
> 
> i.  A Guide to Better Practice: Reducing the Need to Travel Through Land
> Use and Transport Planning.
> Department of Transport and Environment, UK. L23.50. [Contact: HMSO
> Publications Centre, PO Box 276, London, SW8 5DT. Tel. +44 171 873 9090,
> Fax: +44 171 873 8200].
> 
> j.  US EPA Smart Travel Resource Center (Online)
> The Smart Travel Resource Center (STRC) is a directory of
> transportation/air quality public education program summaries from around
> the US. Interested parties will be able to use the STRC to gather
> communication and outreach information and materials on transportation/air
> quality programs of interest to them. [The URL is:
> www.epa.gov/omswww/strc.htm. Or contact Patrice Thornton Tel +1 734
> 668-4329; e-mail: <oms-sti-group at epamail.epa.gov>].
> 
> k.  Canberra at the Crossroads
> This new paper by the Sustainable Transport  Working Group (STWG) of the
> Conservation Council of the South-East Region and the ACT, suggests
> alternatives to expensive freeway projects and  car-dominance. [Contact:
> URL: http://www.pcug.org.au/~parkerp/stwg.htm;  Peter Parker, E-mail:
> parkerp at pcug.org.au].
> 
> l.  Anti-freeway cartoon detective goes online
> The anti-freeway adventure comics, 'Roads of Doom' and 'Ship of State',
> featuring Nick B Possum, marsupial private eye, are now on the world wide
> web. [The URL is: http://www.brushtail.com.au/nick.possum].
> 
> m.  Canadian perspective
> The Winter 1998 issue of Alternatives Journal, a Canadian environmental
> journal, focuses on transport issues. Feature articles include: an
> international comparative perspective by Tamim Raad and Jeff Kenworthy;
> John Pucher on public transport in Canada; Todd Litman on what cars are
> really costing society, and how proper pricing can help. [Contact:
> Alternatives Journal, Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo,
> Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1. phone: + 1 519 888-4567 ext. 6783; fax: (519)
> 746-0292; E-mail: <alternat at fes.uwaterloo.ca>; URL:
> http://www.fes.uwaterloo.ca/alternatives].
> 
> 10. EVENTS
> TORG International Symposium on Travel Demand Management.
> University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 8-10 July,
> 1998. Key Note Speaker is Professor Phil Goodwin, University College
> London. [Contact: Mrs. Lynda Morgan, Transport Operations Research Group,
> University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK, Tel: +
> 44 191 222 7683; Fax: + 44 191 222 8352; E-mail:
> lynda.morgan at newcastle.ac.uk; URL: http://www.ncl.ac.uk/~nws1].
> 
> 11. THE LIGHTER SIDE
> The Japanese weekly "Shukan Bunshun" asked its readers if they knew of
> anyone who used unusual means to commute. Here are some of the responses:
>         " There was a man in the company I used to work at whose commute
> resembled a triathlon. He bicycled from his house to the port, took a boat
> from there to another port, changed to a streetcar there and then to a bus
> and then walked 15 minutes to the office."
>         " Mr. Takagi, who has bought an apartment house located in front of
> the office, brags that his commuting time is zero minutes. And yet, he
> often reports late. We female employees have one request of him: to stop
> waving at his wife at lunch break!"
>         " My husband rides his mountain bike to work every day. According
> to him, once he caught and passed a guy on a motorcycle, who later caught
> up to him at a light stop and told him that he had been doing 45kph."
> [Source: The Japanese Times, 23 November 1997.]
> 
> -------------------------------------------
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> 
> The Sustainable Transport Action Network for Asia & the Pacific (SUSTRAN)
> is dedicated to promoting transport policies and investments which foster
> accessibility for all; social equity; ecological sustainability; health and
> safety; public participation; and high quality of life.
> 
>