Why Don’t Politicians Care About Transportation Issues?
April 18th, 2008 Posted in Fuel, James Baxter, Mass Transit, Red-Light Cameras, Speed Limits, Speed Traps, Traffic Congestion, Traffic Tickets
By Jim Baxter, NMA President
In what has to be history’s longest political campaign, I have yet to hear anything meaningful about public policies that directly affect motorists.
Sure, there have been inane and uneducated comments stimulated by major events, like the collapse of the bridge in Minnesota. But there has been nothing of substance indicating that any of the candidates have spent a whiff of time developing a cogent, rational, and consistent set of transportation policies for the greatest system of personal mobility that the world has ever known.
Yes, the same criticism could be made for many other important subjects and government dominated functions. And, what politicians say during the campaign and what they do in office are often only vaguely connected or consistent.
Still, what bothers and confounds me is that something so important to the economic well-being and social fabric of our country doesn’t even merit a perfunctory or patronizing comment from the “stump?”
Consider that well over 200 million citizens drive, and many millions spend two, three or more hours each day traveling on public roads. Hundreds of billions of dollars in fees and taxes are collected every year from highway users, ostensibly to build and maintain our system of roads streets and highways.
Without this system of vehicles and roadways the United States would have the economy of a third world country. Literally, every single person is reliant, in some fashion, on this system that provides products, services, jobs, recreation, and security to all of us.
For starters I’d like to know where the candidates stand on converting our freeways, expressways and other major highways into toll roads. What is their take on mass transit systems? Should they be run as a public welfare program funded by highway user fees, as is currently the practice, or should they be operated like a transportation system, one that is supported by its users?
Do they have any proposals for replacing user fees from liquid fuels if there is a major shift to electrically powered vehicles? How do they feel about camera and surveillance based enforcement systems? And, do they see the funding of court systems with traffic ticket revenue as a conflict of interest?
There have been obtuse references to highway infrastructure and the need for more money (what else is new, government needs more money!) but little recognition that major chunks of state and federal highway user fees are regularly siphoned off to balance budgets, fund non-highway projects, or fund projects that diminish travel system capacity.
It’s probably too much to hope that subjects like speed traps, speed limits, breathalyzers, red light ticket cameras, and “professional courtesy” might at least rank up there with knocking down shots in small town taverns or bowling prowess.
But, one should be careful about what one wishes for, the campaign staff would probably go to AAA and MADD for advice on position papers. Wouldn’t that be a disaster!
Image Credit: fabrisalvetti
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6 Responses to “Why Don’t Politicians Care About Transportation Issues?”
By MJ on Apr 22, 2008
By the way……the “global warming” issue? What a joke that is……no one will be able to afford the gasoline to drive to any of those wonderful “environmentally safe places that all of the environmentalists are so worried about. Save the forests and all that other propaganda won’t mean much when our grandkids and their kids are all trying to put food on the table to survive but they can’t afford a tank of gas now will it?
By MJ on Apr 22, 2008
What I want to know is why NO ONE is making a big deal about the price of gasoline! At the rate gasoline is going up……….no one will be able to go to work! So who do those idiots think will be paying the taxes that pay their wages????? I am outraged that not one politician has addressed this issue…….; but they all want to be president!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By JOE on Apr 21, 2008
Stephen, good for you. You make some very good points. I too just recently sent some letters to state legislators. I was simply making my point from a purely practical point of view. If you could “start” with one voice and then pick up steam from that point then I could agree but I’ve been doing this for the better part of thirty years. Twice in those thirty years I had my name and address distributed among state NMA members in my state in an effort to get a state organization started. In both cases I noted a meager result. I tried to start a local Citizens Police Commission, which we did meet for a few months until because of attrition we dropped blow a quorum. From time to time I have contacted the state highway department to find out why a certain speed limit was put in place. Also the county. None of it has really had much, if any effect.
This is not to say that in some states your approach could work. Oklahoma is not the best of place to find activists. James Young, who frequently posts on here, no longer lives here. I like Oklahomans in general (I’m not a native) but they are very docile politically except for a few pet subjects. A good example is; http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?articleID=20080419_7_G1_Tyran11213
I don’t want to discourage anyone from trying, I’m just saying it’s more effective if you can get others to join you and the more organized you are the better. I still don’t know what prevents people from not fighting bad policing. The only thing I can think of is it’s just not a priority for them and that’s too bad. But then again, as I’ve said before, it’s not just traffic control issues. It’s part of a larger problem in which citizens are largely disengaged from the political process. It’s hard to even get them to vote let alone actually contacting their legislators, God forbid. It a fact; we get the government we deserve. Most bad government we don’t see outright. Conversely, the cops running around writing tickets all day long is one of the few visible examples of government gone bad, which we do see on a daily basis. It’s a perfect example of badly needed governmental reforms.
While most drivers speak passionately they won’t turn that passion towards their legislators. It’s not for lack of writing skills. I’ve seen some VERY good posts on these NMA sites. It’s like a paralysis sets in. Go figure.
By Stephen on Apr 21, 2008
It starts with one voice.
Speak out yourself. Lead by example. I have written emails, letters to multiple people (Legislators, Reporters, Government Officials) over the past few months on the problems with RLC. Have even helped the NMA activist in Florida Henry Stowe who has done a great job in speaking out against them. He even is working with the Florida Civil Rights Assoication in battling them.
Granted it can be frustrating. But the worst thing you can do is throw up your hands and say “I give up”.
Please don’t do that. Make noise in the best way you can. That is the best advice I can give you.
By JOE on Apr 19, 2008
Jon, very well put. That has been one of my pet suggestions for some time (Check some of my posts). Nobody seems to have any good answers, including me. Its fun to post and debate but turning those word processors on the politicians is far more fruitful but even that is not simple. But one person doing this in one state will not do any good (I know). The first order of business is to get a group organized and then you can start to make noise. In my state of Oklahoma I’ve just about thrown up my hands. I wasn’t even able to get fellow NMA members in this state to do anything!!!!! How in the H…ell can you hope to get anybody else involved if these people won’t. Isn’t that why we joined the NMA? I try to shame people but that doesn’t even work. Cops know we remain impotent to do anything. Drivers will get undeserved tickets and abused by law enforcement. One would think this would motivate many of them to get involved. Alas, it doesn’t. Would you you allow yourself to get punched in the nose and not respond? Being abused or receiving a undeserved ticket by law enforcement is the same thing. Everybody has become sheepeaples. As I’ve said before, I believe this is part of a larger pix. Citizen participation in the political process has become laughable. This leaves it wide open for special interest groups such as MADD and NHTSA to fill the vacuum. If you can come up with a answer to the 1 zillion dollar question of how to get drivers involved please don’t keep it a secret.
By Jon on Apr 19, 2008
An added value to this article would be a summary section on “what can we do?”. It would contain concrete suggestions on what individuals can do to make an impact. Maybe offer a variety of suggestions ranging from “ten minutes of your time” to “join the cause”.
Regards,
Jon