[net.auto] Broken Glass on Roads

maa@ssc-bee.UUCP (Mark A Allyn) (09/19/85)

Just a suggestion from a bicyclist whose tires are sensitive to all
of the broken glass found on the roads nowadays.

I would like to hear feedback on the following suggestion from both
fellow bicyclists and drivers - hence posting on both net.bicycle and
net.auto.

Since much of the broken glass that I see appears to be the result of
accidents and fender benders (broken headlights) I would like to see
a requirement that all parties in an accidents are responsible to ensure
that ALL debris be cleaned up after the accident. Maybee the police officer
responding to the accident should have as one of the items on his check list
or whatever to ensure that the scene is swepted and policed following 
an accident just as in a laboratory situation where the area is completly
cleaned and policed after any sort of accident. I know that in the labs
where I work that if there is an accident and the area is not swept and
policed, there would H**L to pay! I would like to see the same standards
applied to our streets.

Just A Suggestion From
Mark A. Allyn
!uw-beaver!ssc-vax!ssc_bee!maa

gnosis@fluke.UUCP (Chris Villani) (09/20/85)

In article <377@ssc-bee.UUCP> maa@ssc-bee.UUCP (Mark A Allyn) writes:
>Just a suggestion from a bicyclist whose tires are sensitive to all
>of the broken glass found on the roads nowadays.
>
>Since much of the broken glass that I see appears to be the result of
>accidents and fender benders (broken headlights) I would like to see
>a requirement that all parties in an accidents are responsible to ensure
>that ALL debris be cleaned up after the accident.

The idea has merit, but I beg to differ with you as to the source of
the glass.  I run about 70-90 miles/week when in training which gives 
me an opportunity to see lots of pavement.  The vast majority of glass
I encounter is the result of discarded alcoholic beverages bottles.
Living near a high school doesn't seem to help this problem either.
More than once I've had to pick a piece of broken bottle neck or
the like from my shoe.  Again, your idea is praiseworthy.  I just
wish there was some way to overcome blatant disregard for public
safety and cleanliness.  Any ideas?

Chris Villani

hammond@noscvax.UUCP (John A. Hammond) (09/23/85)

> accidents and fender benders (broken headlights) I would like to see
> a requirement that all parties in an accidents are responsible to ensure
> that ALL debris be cleaned up after the accident. Maybee the police officer

I have recently observed that the bulk of the glass is from
six-packs of beer discarded along side the road.  Having been
involved in two recent accidents ( one in Las Vegas and the
other in Lemon Grove ) the tow truck operators cleared up all
of the debris and carted it off on their truck.

-- 
ARPA/MILNET -- hammond@nosc

UUCP --  ihnp4  \
	 akgua   \
	 decvax   > !sdcsvax!noscvax!hammond
	 dcdwest /
	 ucbvax /

fish@ihlpg.UUCP (Bob Fishell) (09/24/85)

> Since much of the broken glass that I see appears to be the result of
> accidents and fender benders (broken headlights) I would like to see
> a requirement that all parties in an accidents are responsible to ensure
> that ALL debris be cleaned up after the accident.

***     AC  T              YOUR     AGE ***

Most of the broken glass around here seems to be from benders of another
kind, namely, drunken teenagers throwing beer bottles out of car
windows.  I would like to see the local police make the little @#$%^&s
EAT it. As to cleaning up after accidents, it's pretty hard to clean
up after a wreck when you've got a concussion.  I think they could pay
the tow truck drivers a little extra to sweep up the debris, if they'd 
do it.

Tire savers seem to do a lot to prevent flats from broken glass.  I've
ridden right over bottle fragments (they make a very distinctive sound)
and kept right on going without incident.  I've only had two flats from
puncture in the last two years, one from a staple piercing the sidewall,
another from a rather large nail.  Sure, they squeal, but they do work.
 __
/  \
\__/
				Bob Fishell
				ihnp4!ihlpg!fish

seifert@hammer.UUCP (Snoopy) (09/24/85)

In article <1475@vax3.fluke.UUCP> gnosis@fluke.UUCP (Chris Villani) writes:
>In article <377@ssc-bee.UUCP> maa@ssc-bee.UUCP (Mark A Allyn) writes:
>>
>>Since much of the broken glass that I see appears to be the result of
>>accidents and fender benders (broken headlights) I would like to see
>>a requirement that all parties in an accidents are responsible to ensure
>>that ALL debris be cleaned up after the accident.

Generally, the people who were *in* the accident are much too shaken up
(or worse) to worry about sweeping up the street.  Assuming the
police come to the scene, it could be part of their task-list to
see that any mess gets cleaned up.  (and it probably is in most places)

> The vast majority of glass I encounter is the result of
> discarded alcoholic beverages bottles.   ...  I just
> wish there was some way to overcome blatant disregard for public
> safety and cleanliness.  Any ideas?

That's what BOTTLE DEPOSITS are for.  Oregon has a 5 cent deposit
on bottles, refillable or not.  It should probably be higher.

Snoopy
tektronix!hammer!seifert
tektronix!tekecs!doghouse.TEK!snoopy

dhk@hp-pcd.UUCP (dhk) (09/24/85)

>> Since much of the broken glass that I see appears to be the result of
>> accidents and fender benders (broken headlights) I....

> The idea has merit, but I beg to differ with you as to the source of
> the glass.  ....			  The vast majority of glass
> I encounter is the result of discarded alcoholic beverages bottles.
> ... the like from my shoe.  Again, your idea is praiseworthy.  I just
> wish there was some way to overcome blatant disregard for public
> safety and cleanliness.  Any ideas?

Yes, enact a refundable deposit on bottles and cans like we have here in 
Oregon.  Around here people take their bottles and cans back to the store
for the deposit instead of throwing them beside the road.  I used to live 
on the border between Idaho (which doesn't have a bottle deposit) and Oregon
and there were more bottles and cans in the ditches on the Idaho side than 
on the Oregon side.  And most of the bottles on the Oregon side were from 
Idaho and could not be returned for a deposit.

( Sorry that this doesn't have much to do with net.auto )

Dustin Kassman
!hplabs!hp-pcd!dhk
Corvallis, Oregon

hom@houxm.UUCP (H.MORRIS) (09/26/85)

===========
The best idea, I think, is the most obvious one, namely laws requiring
deposits on bottles.  Some people will still toss bottles out
their windows (unless the deposit is really high), but then young kids,
instead of smashing them for amusement, are likely to take them to
stores to cash in.  The beverage bottlers/distributers, who don't want
to retool their industry, claim a number of things including that it
will make beverages more expensive.  I doubt it, at least in the long
run.  In New Jersey I managed with difficulty to find a place that sells
beer by the case in returnables, and that also happens to be the best
buy.
	A controversial plus to the idea is that it makes the industry
more labor-intensive and less natural resources intensive in a time
when labor is getting more plentiful and natural resources scarcer.
But the manufacturers won't like that since natural resources behave
themselves better than labor.
	I have seen a couple of bottle bills defeated by well-organized lobbying
campaigns; posters put in every grocery store showing glum people standing
in line with arm-fulls of bottles, or scare campaigns about invasions
of cockroaches.  A good countering technique might be a coordinated
campaign of people going out and gathering bottles for 10 minutes in
the vicinity of their homes, and UPSing a box of bottles to their
anti-bottle bill congressman.

jayj@hpisla.UUCP (Jay Johannes) (09/26/85)

>>>
>>>Since much of the broken glass that I see appears to be the result of
>>>accidents and fender benders (broken headlights) ...

>> The vast majority of glass I encounter is the result of
>> discarded alcoholic beverages bottles.   ...  I just
>> wish there was some way to overcome blatant disregard for public
>> safety and cleanliness.  Any ideas?

>That's what BOTTLE DEPOSITS are for.  Oregon has a 5 cent deposit
>on bottles, refillable or not.  It should probably be higher.

Unfortunately, I dont think any token deposit is going to make a difference.
As was pointed out, these bottles are tossed by minors. A token deposit
is small compared with the risk of being caught with open containers.

Please don't misunderstand. I am NOT condoning or even accepting drinking
and driving. I am strongly for enforcement here, including open container
laws. Its just that someone who is drinking in their car is not going
to be responsible about littering.

Jay Johannes
***** What company? Im a hermit on a mountain top and I dont want no
      company! *****

mikel@codas.UUCP (Mikel Manitius) (10/02/85)

   The problem I find with the NY bottle law, is that they do not re-use
the glass, they simply gather it up and dump it, unlike several other places
I know of that actually re-use the glass.


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