Background on Road Network System - Report Example

Overloading Trucks # 4 Background on Road Network System Roads can be duly considered as the lifeline of transport network of the world. The significance of roadways can be seen in every nation of the world, where these are actively utilised in day-to-day transport and communication. For instance, roadways in Saudi Arabia are amid the important paths for daily transport. The total road network of the country spread around 220,000 kilometres which include provincial roads, urban roads and streets among others (1Trading Economics, 2013). Additionally, the government of the nation invested around $8 billion in maintaining along with constructing roads (U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council, 2013). It can be viewed that the average number of heavy vehicles sales (including trucks) for commercial use in the country as compared to other vehicles is less (HSBC, 2013). Correspondingly, roads or roadways are also important in New Zealand. In the present day context, the roads network of the country spread around 94,301 kilometres that encompass provincial roads, urban roads and streets among them (2Trading Economics, 2013). The country spends around $5 billion for every three years period to maintain its roadways and infrastructure (New Zealand Transport Agency, 2013). These roads of New Zealand have huge number of heavy commercial vehicles including trucks that operates in almost similar number as compared to other vehicles (Jewell et. al., 2007). Apart from these countries, a few of the developing along with the developed nations of the world also possess significant road networks. These nations are India (4,109,592 km), China (3,860,823 km) and Australia (817,089 km). The government of these nations also invests considerable amount of money in maintenance of these road networks (e.g. India around 35,000 Crores per annum) (3Trading Economics, 2013; 4Trading Economics, 2013; Dutta, 2011). The aforesaid concerned aspects can be better understood with the help of the following pictorial illustrations. Road Network of Saudi Arabia Highlighted in Red Source: (MapCruzin, 2013). Periodic Increase in Road Network of New Zealand Source: (2Trading Economics, 2013). Road Deterioration Factors Road deterioration is one of the most vital points of concern for transport authorities in various nations of the world. There are several crucial factors that lead towards the deterioration of roads, among which the role of overloading trucks, tyre pressure and effects of axle loads are considerable. In Saudi Arabia, impacts of overloading trucks on roads are quite unfavourable. In this regard, a recent case depicts that the new highway Al-Asyah & 8217 in the country has been affected considerably by overloading trucks (Al-Awadh, 2007). Apart from this, a recent report also depicted that repletion of load on axle and tyre pressures are also crucial drivers that imposed unfavourable impact on the performance of roads in Saudi Arabia (Mubaraki, 2010). This scenario can also be seen in New Zealand, where the issue of road deterioration is increasing with passing days. Damage of roads and pavements owing to overloading trucks and excess loads on axle are quite usual (Brown et. al., 2010). The developed along with the developing nations of the world are also concerned with the issues of road deterioration. Amongst several developed nations, UK and Australia are vulnerable to these issues. In Australia, the performance level of roads is incessantly decreasing by several percentages every year owing to the impacts of overloading and other road deteriorating factors. Correspondingly in the UK, the level of deterioration is increasing at a rapid pace, owing to the aspect of overloading as a prime factor (Roeun & Mony, 2013). Specially mentioning, developing nations of the world are also dealing with the issues of road deterioration. For instance, in India, every year the government of the nation had to spend a bulk amount in repair and maintenance of roads and pavements. This is because of the negative influence of overloading vehicles and deteriorating quality of roads in the nation (Indoria, 2011). Similarly, China is also dealing with this similar issue over the years. For instance, Anhui Province in China is undergoing a rapid deterioration owing to overloading of trucks with two, three or four axles (Chan, 2008). The table below will provide a clear picture about the types of vehicles that impacts roads in China especially in the Anhui Province. Source: (Chan, 2008). Limiting Road Deterioration It is evident that road deterioration is a crucial matter of concern for the government of various nations. In this regard, several steps can be followed in order to limit the aspect of road deterioration. Stern laws should be imposed relating to restrict overloading of vehicles and maintain efficient standards of driving. Apart from this, concerned authorities can also initiate campaigns to educate people about the importance of roads and its performance and how they could be able to enhance the performance of roads through making deliberate approaches and limiting the unwanted aspect of deterioration. Truck Deterioration Factors and Cost of Trucks Maintenance Overloading of trucks not only impacts the roads negatively, but also deteriorates the performance of trucks by a greater extent. In Saudi Arabia, in-spite of imposing strict regulations by the companies in context to truck overloading, the cases of overloading remain embedded. Trucks operating in the country have to bear extra costs owing to overloading with regard to maintaining the same. This is because overloading impacts the body and engine of the vehicles which results in the augmentation of maintenance costs. Apart from this, certain truck deterioration factors and scenario of rise of maintenance costs can also be viewed in countries comprising developed along with underdeveloped nations of the world. Owing to overloading, drivers of trucks are unable to stabilize the movement of the vehicles and also take longer time to stop the same affecting several parts of the vehicle. Moreover, overloading as a causing factor for trucks deterioration can also be justified from the fact that owing to the same, the entire suspension system of the vehicle becomes quite weak, leading towards increased level of maintenance costs (Indoria, 2011). A pictorial representation has been provided for better comprehension about one of the factors relating to truck deterioration. Impacts on Tire from Overloading Source: (Equipment World, 2011). Advantages and Disadvantages of Overloading Trucks It is apparent from the above discussion that overloading is considered as a negative prospect both for roads and vehicle conditions. However, overloading provides certain benefits for the owners of the vehicles, but they are quite limited in number. The primary among them is gaining unfair trading advantage. It means that vehicles will be able to carry more goods at a time, which is cost as well as time effective. Moreover, this aspect will also help the vehicle owners to acquire competitive advantage over the competitors who are providing similar services, but with a fair approach complying with all legal norms (Oxfordshire County Council, n.d.). On the other hand, the list of disadvantages of overloading trucks is quite long. Overloading trucks will be less stable as compared to other vehicle. The controls of drivers driving an overloaded truck are deemed to become unstable, raising the chances of occurring accidents. Additionally, overloading trucks cannot be able to accelerate at a normal level, which further reduces its efficiency level. Apart from these disadvantages, its unfavourable impact on the performance of roads is also an important point to be kept into concern (Indoria, 2011). The following pictorial illustration depicts the consequence of overloading trucks in roadways. Source: (Schwartz, 2013). Economic Impacts of Overloading Trucks Overloading trucks act as a hazard for traffic controls. It is quite apparent that overloading trucks is often viewed to be amid the causal factors behind the occurrence of various severe accidents. The occurrence of the accidents not only threatens the life of others, but also accompanies greater economic loss to concerned authorities of various nations or states. These accidents, in most the scenario damages public properties like roads and pavements, which involves bulk investments made by the government. Apart from making initial investments, governments also spend a considerable amount in managing these public assets. Hence, damaging the properties through accidents resulting from overloading trucks eventually causes higher financial loss to the concerned authorities. Additionally, it can be affirmed that overloading trucks also reduces the performance and the longevity of the roads, which is also a major loss for government of various nations or states (Itimes, 2013). This can be better understood with the help of the following figure. Source: (Malm, 2013). References Al-Awadh, K. (2007). Overweight trucks damage Al-Asyah& #8217;s new highway. Retrieved from http://www.arabnews.com/node/301477?quicktabs_stat2=0 Brown, D., Liu, W., & Henning, T. F. P. (2010). Identifying pavement deterioration by enhancing the definition of road roughness. NZ Transport Agency research report, 1-66. Chan, Y. C. (2008). Truck overloading study in developing countries and strategies to minimise its impact. Retrieved from http://eprints.qut.edu.au/28561/1/Ying_Chan_Thesis.pdf Dutta, S. (2011). Poor roads cost Rs 35,000 cr a year: Report. Retrieved from http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-16/india/29891914_1_rural-roads-maintenance-report Equipment World. (2011). Maintenance. Retrieved from http://www.equipmentworld.com/maintenance-10/ HSBC. (2013). Automotive industry ready for steady growth in the UAE. Retrieved from https://globalconnections.hsbc.com/uae/en/articles/automotive-industry-ready-steady-growth-uae Indoria, R. P. (2011). Towards tackling overloading on roads. Retrieved from http://irc.org.in/ENU/knowledge/Editorial/April%202011.pdf Itimes. (2013). Overloaded trucks a traffic hazard. Retrieved from http://ww.itimes.com/citizen-journalism/overloaded-trucks-a-traffic-hazard Malm, S. (2012). Worlds biggest traffic fine? Chinese driver whose overloaded truck collapsed a bridge gets a bill for $25 million. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2179893/Worlds-biggest-traffic-fine-Chinese-driver-overloaded-truck-collapsed-bridge-gets-16m.html MapCruzin. (2013). Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from http://www.mapcruzin.com/free-saudi-arabia-maps.htm Mubaraki, M. A. (2010). Predicting deterioration for the Saudi Arabia urban road network. Retrieved from http://etheses.nottingham.ac.uk/1171/1/Muhammad_Ali_Mubaraki_Thesis.pdf New Zealand Transport Agency. (2013). State highway spending. Retrieved from http://www.nzta.govt.nz/network/management/spending.html Oxfordshire County Council. (n.d.). Vehicle overloading. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/vehicle-overloading Roeun, C., & Mony, M. (2013). Damage effects of road pavements due to overloading. Academia, 1-11. Schwartz, A. (2013). Truck overloading accounts for 5 percent of tractor trailer accidents. Retrieved from http://www.anapolschwartz.com/pa-truck-accident/truck_overload.asp 1Trading Economics. (2013). Roads; total network (km) in Saudi Arabia. Retrieved from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/saudi-arabia/roads-total-network-km-wb-data.html 2Trading Economics. (2013). Roads; total network (km) in New Zealand. Retrieved from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/new-zealand/roads-total-network-km-wb-data.html 3Trading Economics. (2013). Roads; total network (km) in China. Retrieved from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/china/roads-total-network-km-wb-data.html 4Trading Economics. (2013). Roads; total network (km) in Australia. Retrieved from http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/roads-total-network-km-wb-data.html U.S.-Saudi Arabian Business Council. (2013). Saudi Arabia’s 2013 budget continues focus on investment. Retrieved from http://www.us-sabc.org/custom/news/details.cfm?id=1380#.UnoiMHAiZ8M Read More