Each Wednesday, we’ll publish quick summaries of the articles from the last week on TheNewspaper.com. We’re doing this because these articles are often strongly connected to the issues that National Motorists Association members are interested in.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
US Traffic Fatalities on the Rise
More people are hitting the roads as the economy sees a slight improvement, but that has a downside when it comes to safety. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) figures released Tuesday, the months of January through March saw an increase in the vehicle fatality rate from 0.98 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled to 1.10 — a 12.2 percent increase.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Courts Wrestle With Police Officer Credibility
When a court judges whether a motorist is guilty of a traffic offense, the evidence frequently rests on the word of a police officer against that of the accused driver. In such cases, the edge is automatically given to law enforcement, even if there is reason to believe officers may twist or fabricate the facts.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Traffic Camera Executive Attempts to Manipulate California Vote
A photo enforcement company executive that supposedly was fired last year for being caught attempting to manipulate an election in Washington state has been caught trying to do the same in California. Bill Kroske was a vice president at American Traffic Solutions (ATS) until the Everett Herald newspaper exposed his efforts to work closely with the mayor of Mukilteo to block a citizen ballot initiative to ban the use of red light and speed cameras.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Washington: Toll Roads Re-Direct Congestion
Imposing tolls on freeways and tunnels may not actually reduce congestion. An analysis of the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement project by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) suggest tolling merely takes the traffic that would otherwise have been on the high-capacity highway and transfers it to another, untolled route — usually a lower-capacity side street.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Florida: Traffic Camera Records Impossible Speeds
Proponents of photo enforcement frequently assert the camera never lies, but newly released evidence suggests the technology can often be wrong. In St. Petersburg, Florida, cameras belonging to the private vendor American Traffic Solutions (ATS) have accused vehicle owners of doing the impossible. If the camera is to be believed, on December 13, 2011 at 3:29pm, a woman blasted through the intersection of 66th Street and 38th Avenue at 215 MPH.
