| Limit power of buses to curb road carnage | Send to a friend |
| Tuesday, 09 March 2010 12:13 |
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I’m suggesting this because there is no way a 65-passenger bus with less than 120hp can reach 80kph, which is the maximum legal speed set for public service vehicles, let alone surpass it. Advances in automotive technology, particularly in the diesel engine segment, in the last two decades means that buses have become infinitely powerful compared to yesteryears. We now have on our roads buses powered by state-of-the-art turbo-charged intercooled engines developing up to 450hp. These beasts of vehicles are capable of maintaining sustained speeds of up to 120kph, which explains why the 650 kilometres between Dar es Salaam and Arusha are now covered in eight hours or less. Get into one of these super-buses, and you will be “flown” from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya – a distance of 800 kilometres – in just under ten hours. It’s a far cry from the 1970s and 80s when the then ubiquitous Leyland buses, which had puny 130hp engines, crisscrossed the country. It took a full 16 hours to travel between Dar es Salaam and Arusha, and almost 24 hours to cover the distance between Dar es Salaam in Mbeya in the underpowered buses. The upside was that it was almost impossible for drivers to speed on highways. Buses in those days didn’t have enough power to propel them at speeds blamed for most of the accidents involving public service vehicles nowadays. Speed governors have failed miserably to curb the road carnage, and it’s time the government put a limit to the power of buses carrying not less that 65 passengers. Setting the ceiling at 120hp should limit the maximum speed of buses to 60kph. This is something that bus operators cannot tamper with as opposed to speed governors. H.M. Hussein, Dar es Salaam. Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websites           |
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