Does this count as a road fatality?
I do think the transportation woes that we a a public face on a day to day basis, contributes to our way of life and our interaction with coworkers, customers and our family. The most recent issue of the Trinidad & Tobago Chamber of Commerce’s magazine, Contact, was dedicated to the transportation problem in the country. Two articles struck me, the first Gridlock: A Way of Life highlighted the cases of two young mothers who work in Port - of - Spain. The arcicle goes on to say:
“Long commutes, increasing traffic delays and long work hours leave people overwhelmed with time demands. Traffic congestion also impairs health, psychological adjustment, work performance and overall satisfaction with life … Job satisfaction and commitment declines with increased commuting distance on the road” This publication also notes that traffic jams have “adverse effects on blood pressure, mood, frustration tolerance, illness occasions, work absences, job stability and overall life satisfaction.” People suffering these problems may not link them to their daily commute.
The other article, Assessing the Transportation Problem, quoted two persons whom I’ve had the distinct pleasure of meeting while working on one of my projects. Dr. Rae Furlonge, began to examine the costs associated with traffic, which included the costs of delivery, and public transportation as they are forced now to make less trips per day.
I’d like to take it a step further and put forward my theory on the costs associated with traffic. Just recently on a trinituner.com, the topic came up on the forums and I attempted to quanitfy it.
On average, according to Dr. Furlonge, 10 years ago, approximately 20,000 persons travel into Port-of-Spain each day either by the Beetham Highway, the Priority Bus Route or the Eastern Main Road. Given a reasonable factor for the growth and expansion of businesses government offices, etc., let’s assume that number today is closer to 30,000.
So we have 30,000 persons facing a MINIMUM of 90 minutes of traffic each day. I think that’s a reasonable estimate considering some people try to beat the traffic and get to POS at 6:00AM, and don’t start work till 8:00AM. So we have 30,000 persons not doing anything productive for 90 minutes (not to mention frustrated and tired).
Let’s again assume that each of these persons was working for the MINIMUM wage of $10 per hour. Some quick calcuations would show that no less than $450,000 of productive capital is LOST each day. Now assume that there’s an accident, rain is falling or someone decides to do some road works… that figure could double quite easliy. So in effect, over $2,000,000 per week of productive man hours is lost to traffic… that’s over $100,000,000 annually, and given my assumptions for minimum wage, etc.,the figure is probably much higher.
So we’re losing money, getting frustrated, sacrificing our family life, getting up early, getting home late, raising our blood pressure and inhaling exhaust fumes, and then some one comes along and bad drives you…
Well I think we can all identify with it…
But the next time you feel like coming out of your car and hitting someone with a boulder… take a deep breath, close your eye for second if you’re not moving…. and if your still not over it…. flip them the middle finger instead…
