SOME TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT ODDITIES

Road & Transport Research, Dec 2004

Some of the material that comes across the Editor's desk for inclusion in the Bulletin Board is decidedly quirky. In the spirit of the holiday season, here is a sample of some of the traffic and transport oddities that have been spotted.

Your neighbour's vehicle affects property values

The wrong sort of vehicle parked outside your neighbour's house could significantly reduce your property value, according to a survey by a UK property web site (www.assertahome.com).

Highest on the list were heavy goods vehicles, which reduced values by 16%. A caravan or campervan nearby is not much better, reducing property values by about 12%. A white van (associated in the UK with owner-driver delivery contractors) can knock 11% of the value 'because potential buyers will worry the image of white van man will lower the tone of the neighbourhood', said the report.

An abandoned car nearby cuts 7% of market prices. A neighbour owning a heavy-duty motor bike raises concerns about potential noise, leading to a 5% reduction in property value, while the presence of a car suggesting that noisy students are in the neighbourhood (the UK report pointed at 'an old Citroen 2CV') can have a 2% impact on prices.

But it's not all bad news: the 'right' sorts of vehicles in the street or neighbours' driveways can boost property values. Top-of-the-market sports cars and executive vehicles imply that the area is affluent and can raise prices in the street by 12% and 11% respectively. Even 4x4s can help to boost values by up to 9%, apparently by the logic that a higher level of income is required to run them.

The report suggests that spotting a few upmarket cars in an unfashionable area might be a clue that the area is on the brink of 'gentrifying' and about to experience a surge in property values. So on auction day, forget property makeover; instead, hire a few prestige cars and park them up and down the street.

Source: Press Association, Wednesday August 25, 2004.

Bridge corrosion

Agence France-Presse reported that a steel bridge in Indonesia was in danger of collapsing because locals use one of its steel columns as a urinal.

The Jakarta Post is quoted as saying that the 1,177 m long Ampera Bridge in Palembang city, which was built in 1965, has begun to lean and noticeably rocks under heavy traffic. A Public Works Department official attributed this to corrosion of one of the columns caused by the human-generated fluids. Vehicles weighing more than one tonne are being diverted from the bridge.

Although the story has attracted media attention recently, Indonesian officials have been aware of the problem for some time and the bridge (described as 'somewhat superannuated') has been the subject of remedial works for several years. An engineering report prepared as part of a rehabilitation funding proposal reported that

'In 1998, a ship ran into a pier, and a detailed inspection of the bridge followed in 1999. It was the first inspection after the completion of the rehabilitation project in 1992 and revealed some damage to the pier and to the shoes. Also, there were holes in the rusted metal part of the substructure inside the towers. The corrosion of the metal was not related to the collision with the ship, caused instead by the inflow of rainwater and by long-term exposure to urine. In 2000, repair work was implemented on the shoes and on the substructure of the towers.'

No information has been obtained on any measures to be taken to reduce the causes of the corrosion.

Sources: www.jbic.go.jp/english/oec/post/2002/pdf/041_full.pdf Agence France-Presse November 28, 2004.

Accident victim sued for train delays

A New Zealand newspaper reports that Poland's state railway had claimed compensation from a man who caused delays to rail services after he was run over by a train.

The accident, which paralysed the 19 year old man, led to an estimated 2058 zlotys (about A$850) worth of delays in services. A railway spokesman cited Polish law which gave them the power to recover losses from people who caused delays to services.

Source: The Southland Times, September 29, 2004.

Some traffic Odd Spots

From the Odd Spot' in the Melbourne Age come these reports:

* A parrot was given a ticket by a traffic policeman in the Greek town of Patras for obstructing the pavement. The offender, perched on a stand outside a pet shop, promptly tore the ticket up.

* Two men living in Saudi Arabia crashed their cars into each other and got into an argument. As a traffic policeman was taking down their details, the two men discovered they were brothers who had been separated 21 years previously.

* Who knows the words to 'Advance Australia Fair'? A local ordinance in a traffic-congested Philippines city requires jaywalkers to either sing the Philippines national anthem in public or pay a 50-peso (A$1.15) fine.

* By moving his garden gate 2.7 metres, a Welshman could claim free school transport to school for his sons because they then oficially lived more than 2.4 kilometres from their school.

* A Norwegian man deliberately passed a police car 50km/h over the limit because he wanted to lose his licence. He was fed up with being his girlfriend's designated driver.