A RECENT meeting of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry's transport committee provided convincing evidence to support the rail in favour of road argument.
In South Africa the estimated life of a road is 20 years as it is constructed to carry standard loads of 8,2 tons per axle.
If trucks are overloaded by 22%, or 1,8 tons per axle, the life expectancy of the roads is reduced to nine years or by 55%. An overload factor of 3,8 tons or 46% leads to a road life reduction of 79% or down to 4,3 years.
It is estimated that 40% of the heavy vehicles in South Africa are overloaded by 40%. A carrier doubles its profit per journey if it overloads by 5%.
In addition, while the maximum permissible gross combination mass per vehicle is 38 tons in Britain, 40 tons in Italy and 46 tons in Kenya, in South Africa it has recently been increased to 59 tons in order to be competitive with other African countries.
One of the answers must clearly be the more prudent use of a resource which has a far less costly maintenance account and is far kinder to the environment.
