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<P mce_keep="true">Henry6 </P> <P mce_keep="true">All the fuel taxes and highway related fees collected by the federal government go to the Highway Trust Fund (HTF). They are not sufficient to build and maintain the federal highways needed by the nation. So monies are drawn from the general fund. Last year, for example, the U.S. Government transferred approximately $34.5 billion to the HTF. An additional sum was transferred to the Mass Transit Administration. These transfers were not fuel taxes or highway related fees.</P> <P mce_keep="true">Some states transfer a portion of the fuel taxes to other government activities. In Texas, where I live, 25 per cent of the fuel taxes are transferred to the school fund. Then the state takes monies from the general fund to make up some of the monies transferred to the school fund. </P> <P mce_keep="true">Are there problems with our highways and roadways? You bet. But when I get in my car, as I will do tomorrow, and drive halfway across the state, if my prior experiences are an indicator, I will zip along the roadways without undue delay. I will have to slow for some construction sites, which are there because the owner (the people) is improving the system, which is what I want him to do. </P> <P mce_keep="true">The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that many of the country's bridges need to be rebuilt or repaired. They have a vested interest in hyping the issue. Spending on bridges, etc. would mean more jobs for civil engineers. They are not an independent inspection agency. Therefore, their assessment of the health of America's infrastructure is not bias free.</P> <P mce_keep="true">Following the collapse of the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis, the Texas Depart of Transportation inspected the key highway bridges in Texas. It closed none. It did find some that need to be fixed, but most of them can be repaired over a reasonable time. I suspect these findings would apply to the country as a whole. </P> <P mce_keep="true">Politics plays a role in determining where and when highways are built or fixed. Corporate politics, by the way, plays the same role in the corporation's sphere of operations. Politics is part of the human condition. This is just as true for a private railroad as any other entity. </P> <P mce_keep="true">Yes you get a vote. Every time you vote for a state or federal representative, you are voting. And if you don't like what you see, you can write to your elected representative. Or visit him or her to express your concerns. When is the last time you did that? And when is the last time one of the railroads other than one you might work for or have worked for asked for your opinion regarding their track maintenance program?</P> <P mce_keep="true">America's airways system is the envy of the world. As a pilot with thousands of hours under my belt, I have had first hand experience with it. I know what works and what does not work. That is not to say that it is problem free or does not have things that need to be fixed. It has plenty of challenges, i.e. coastal congestion, new equipment requirements, etc., but to say that it is dysfunctional or dangerous belies the facts.</P> <P mce_keep="true">Airlines in the U.S. are not safe? In 2007 U.S. commercial airlines carried 678 million passengers. This unsafe system, as you call it, according to DOT preliminary statistics, had 44 passenger fatalities in 2007. The fatalities were associated with one commuter carrier accident. The legacy carriers had zero fatalities. The commuter carrier fatality rate was .038 per 100,000 flight hours. As has been true since the 1940s, flying is one of the safest forms of transport. The risk of dieing in an airplane crash is so low as to make a comparison with any other form of transport is laughable.</P> <P mce_keep="true">From October 2007 to September 2008 commercial airlines in the U.S. had an on-time arrival rate of 82 per cent. These numbers can be calculated from data provide by the FAA. Not surprisingly on-time performance during the winter months is considerably below the average. North America's relatively severe weather makes it difficult to have every plan arrive on-time. Good for the common sense shown by the pilots. </P>
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