CAIRO: Trucks are now banned from traveling on the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road on Thursdays and Saturdays from 12:00 pm to 12:00 am during the months of July and August. The decision comes after a decree from the Ministry of Transportation, which told drivers to take the Agriculture Road instead. July and August are prime time for Egyptians flocking to spend their weekends in Alexandria or on the North Coast. The majority use the Cairo-Alexandria Desert Road, the main highway linking the two cities, which has been the site of several fatal road accidents every summer. "The decision was made for safety measures - these trucks cause the majority of the accidents, Ezzat Badawy, deputy head of the transportation and telecommunications committee at the People's Assembly, said. "The highway during the weekend is already crammed with thousands heading to Alexandria and the North Coast. Banning trucks to use [the highway] during these days is good for traffic, he explained. One Daily News Egypt reporter saw increased traffic police at both ends of the highway Thursday and Saturday evening, signaling trucks to the side of the road and forcing them to take another route. Minister of Transportation Mohamed Mansour told the press that "more than 80,000 families use this highway and their lives are more important than money, responding to accusations by business owners and drivers who claim that Mansour issued this decree in favor of the rich, who are going off for summer vacations at the expense of the poor. General Mohamed Mansour, deputy minister of interior and head of the traffic department, told independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm, that this ban was meant to secure the lives of citizens and minimize the number of road accidents. He cited reports indicating that the number of road accidents on this highway increase during the summer, with the majority taking place on Thursdays and Saturdays (when people go and come back for the weekend), mainly because of trucks. Truck drivers have been clashing with the government this past year ever since the People's Assembly approved an article in the new traffic law banning the use of, import or manufacture of tractor trailers, with a grace period of two years for owners to replace them with other means of cargo transportation.
