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There is paperwork, no conclusions and recommendations: the RALBD reports reveal what it lacks

The Authority has published a report reviewing safety systems for two-wheeled vehicles, which does not address the main problem.

Another report presents a bleak picture among truck drivers, who work more and rest less.

As long as the RALB is subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation, which it is supposed to direct and criticize, it will not fulfill its role as a lifesaver.

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• Two wheels

• Trucks

• NRSA

Keenan Cohen

Saturday, 28 August 2021, 18:02 Updated: 18:08

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The ongoing failure to address state road safety is reflected in two major modes of transportation - two-wheeled vehicles and heavy vehicles.

Both, as a way of persistent and neglected failures, do not correct themselves - but only get worse with time.

The National Road Safety Authority has published two new reports, one of which deals with the review of advanced safety systems in the two-wheeled vehicle market, and the other with the regulations for driving and resting hours for heavy vehicle drivers in Israel and around the world.

The reports show that in the field of motorcycle and scooter safety systems our situation is relatively good, with adherence to the European standard, with the question being whether the country knows how to discern and address the main problem: poor training for new drivers and unfriendly infrastructure.

In contrast, in the heavy vehicle field the news is less good.

The Israeli truck driver is behind the wheel for more hours and under harsher conditions than his European counterpart.

Not only does the two new reports from the National Road Safety Authority describe the gap in the safety perception of these road users, but more severely the fact that they have been warned for years: in the absence of a proper budget, powers and as long as it is subject to supervision, control and guidance - Ministry of Transport - will remain the National Road Safety Authority as a kind of lip tax and will not fulfill its critical, important and necessary role of saving lives.

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The state must discern and address the main problem with two-wheelers (Photo: Reuven Castro)

In the first report, the Authority deals with safety systems for two-wheeled vehicles. The year 2021 is emerging as one of the bleeding years on the roads in general and for motorcyclists in particular. After in the years 2019-2020 65 and 68 riders were killed each year respectively, at the end of August the current number of deaths among two-wheeler riders already stands at 66 deaths, a figure that is an increase of 38% compared to August in previous years.

The report reviews 11 passive and active safety systems and devices installed on two-wheeled vehicles or available for purchase separately. Among the systems reviewed in the report can be found systems for preventing wheel locking in braking (ABS), combined braking (which activates the brakes on the front and rear wheel in combination to improve braking), stability control and traction, steering dampers and other jackets combined with airbags.

The report shows that due to adherence to the European standard, the State of Israel is in a good place in relation to the United States.

Two important points are not presented in the report as recommendations but only excellent in its margins.

The first is the lack of a purchase tax rebate for those safety systems, as well as the lack of procedure and charging of motorcycle importers in advertising the score and safety levels of motorcycles marketed in Israel, similar to what is done in the automotive field.

Investment in infrastructure and riders is needed

Another aspect of the issue of incentives and tax benefits, which benefit with two factors - the importer who can sell cheaper and the first buyer. From then on what matters is the price, and too few buyers will prefer safety systems when it comes to a cheap and used tool. On the other hand, an ongoing incentive such as a discount in compulsory insurance for tools with safety systems will serve and encourage their purchase as well as used ones.

The second and more significant point concerns the broader picture - the increase in the number of dead and injured came at the same time as the expansion of the riders' circles. Those in the field tell about queues and the demand for riding lessons for a license and high demand in the motorcycle agencies. The necessary conclusion is that there is a correlation between more new and inexperienced riders and road accidents, however at present there is no intention to improve the level of instruction beyond the minimum threshold required to obtain a license, and charging for professional riding courses or even a benefit for those undergoing such training is out of the question.

In light of the neglect of these two clauses, the hope that points like the infrastructure and enforcement aspect will be addressed is nothing more than a wish.

Signage-free intersections that ensure a wide field of vision, protection for safety fences, hazardous edges, enforcement against wild riding and road bullying are not allowed - they are a matter of life and death in preventing two-wheeled accidents.

Gloomy situation compared to other countries (Photo: Reuven Castro)

The second report published by the Authority concerns a comparison between the working and rest times of heavy vehicle drivers in Israel and around the world. According to the National Road Safety Authority, studies show that driver fatigue is a significant cause in about 20% of accidents involving heavy vehicles. In order to translate the significance of heavy vehicle accidents, one must examine their involvement in road accidents in recent years.

In 2020, 75 people were killed in accidents involving heavy vehicles, which constitute about 24% of all deaths in road accidents. This is a slight decrease from the 27% that were their share in 2019 and 29% in 2018 - but this is more related to the total less traffic that was in the multi-closure year. Evidence, as of today, with 58 fatalities out of 230 in 2021, accidents involving a heavy vehicle account for 25% of all accidents.

In order to deal with the impact of driving fatigue, driving restrictions and rest rules for heavy vehicle drivers have been established in the vast majority of advanced countries.

The guideline is to limit continuous driving hours and set minimum periods of time for rest.

Sleep experts agree that the best way to prevent fatigue is to plan hours of sleep and avoid night driving and early morning travel.

Dead tired

The comparison in the report was made to countries such as the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the European Union, although the driving characteristics between Israel and European countries are closer than those of New Zealand and the United States, as well as the truck market structure and labor and rest laws in general.

For example, in the United States, a maximum of 14 working hours per day is defined, of which up to 11 hours of driving and a break of at least 10 hours between working days and a maximum weekly quota of 60 hours. In Canada the situation is even worse with 14 working hours including 13 driving hours in the south of the country and 18 working hours including 15 driving hours in the north of the country, without reference to rest periods between driving and with the highest number of weekly working hours reviewed. In New Zealand and Australia the 13th and 12th working hours respectively, but with a mandatory rest period of at least 10 hours between working days.

In the EU the driving limits are 9 hours a day with the option to extend to 10 hours up to twice a week. There are also 45-minute breaks for every 4.5 hours of driving and rest of at least 11 hours between workdays, with the option of shortening to 9 hours to three times a week. The maximum weekly working hours is 56 hours.

And in Israel, which is in a hurry to adopt the European standard in many areas, it seems that they have taken the evil from all the worlds. The Israeli truck driver officially works 12 hours a day, but in practice, according to evidence, it also reaches 15 and 17 hours due to a shortage of drivers. His driving breaks are of half an hour every four hours of driving or an hour after six consecutive hours of driving.

The rest between working days is the shortest and is defined as 7 consecutive hours and among professional drivers he is almost the most hours on the road - 68 hours, two hours less than New Zealand, which is one tenth the size of Israel, and four hours less than Australia, which is much larger than Israel.

The Israeli truck driver works 12 hours a day (Photo: Reuven Castro)

Shimon Sudai, chairman of the Association of Traffic Safety Officers, has previously said of what he sees as the main obstacle in the perception of the operation of heavy vehicle drivers: "As long as the Ministry of Transport does not define the bus or heavy truck driver as a professional driver. People will not go for this thing, because they treat drivers, sorry for the phrase, like toilet paper - use and throw away. As long as the status of Professional driver is not defined and do not receive wages and merit - does not seem to change on the roads. "

Regarding the conditions that will enable your rest during the working day, the talks between the Ministry of Transport Council Leading focus on car parks of rest for drivers, those that allow them to stop sure to freshen up after hours And here it has been for more than 15 years that the Ministry of Transport has been dragging its feet on an issue that comes up in every discussion. "In 2017, they said they would return to the Economics Committee within two weeks with regulations that match those of Europe and settle the matter. To this day, they have not returned, "said Gabi Ben Harush, Hugh.R. Board of Leaders.

In the summary of the report, the National Road Safety Authority is satisfied with the case: "In order to reduce the risk of involvement in an accident as a result of fatigue, the working hours and rest hours of heavy vehicle drivers must be clearly defined."

It is the same body whose job is to "direct, coordinate and criticize the activities of the partners in order to shape a safe driving culture."

Given the gaps presented in it, it is not certain that this is the message that emerges from the report.

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