Mobility Matters Daily #437 - High Vis and Railways
Good day my good friend.
A warning to all of you. This morning I woke up, and there was this bright ball of light in the sky. I remember something similar happening a long time ago. I remember the same heat, and how it managed to make the days warm, and dry up everything that had been soaked by the rain. I think they call it a “sun.” Watch out for it, and be wary!
If you have any suggestions for interesting news items or bits of research to include in this newsletter, you can email me.
James
High-Vis Clothing Works
Its a popular meme on social media sites owned by vain billionaires that every single problem in road safety can be solved by people wearing high visibility jackets. But what does the evidence say? Well, it clearly doesn’t say that’s the only thing you should do (hence why the meme is popular). But the evidence does show that it can have a marginal positive impact on safety, and can result in people being seen more easily. But that’s not all.
A study literally released today shows the interesting dynamic with crowds. Very simply, the study around schools showed that the presence of a crowd reduced vehicle speeds. But when members of the crowd wore high visibility clothing, vehicle speeds reduced even more than that. So while you should just rely on a jacket to keep kids safe, said jacket still helps.
A railway renaissance in Africa
Recently, a comment by the French railway about how it was easier to build a high speed line in Morocco than in California was taken as a slight against California. But as we everything, that narrative is only half-right. The African rail network has been consistently expanding for a number of years, including the East African Railway Masterplan and a new metro system planned in Cairo. Also helped by China’s recent interests in infrastructure projects in Africa.
This research article provides an excellent summary of the state of play for rail in Africa. There are a lot of challenges on integration, regulation, and research into passenger demand and impacts on the climate of rail in Africa. There is a realisation that it is not just enough to build railways, you have to build the capabilities in railway engineering too. Then the renaissance can fully take flight.
Random things
These links are meant to make you think about the things that affect our world in transport, and not just think about transport itself. I hope that you enjoy them.
The coming culture peace (Substack)
How Australia became the world's greatest lithium supplier (BBC)
Crypto: Everyone Was Just That Stupid (Heisenberg Report)
In The Age Of Hybrid Working, Are Work Friendships A Nostalgic Dream? (Refinery29)
Welcome to the Tiny Town Where Half Your Neighbors Are Polar Bears (Wall Street Journal)
Something interesting
Concorde. A perfect example of how the sheer wonders of technology eventually come up against harsh business reality.
If you do nothing else today, then do this
The ever-excellent Centre for Cities has published some research on what happened to British cities whose employment was hit hard during the pandemic. Its good. You should read it.