The War on Cars Watch is a weekly feature of the NMA blog. The War on Cars Watch focuses on road diets, traffic calming and programs such as Vision Zero and Complete Streets as well as studies, court cases, and other news that affect motorists.
All comments this week are from Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director and editor/curator of this blog.
We would love to hear from you about the War on Cars Watch. Please feel free to comment below.
War on Cars Watch Story of the Week
- Jalopnik: The ‘Speed Kills Myth’ Guy Isn’t Done Yet (Video Documentary) –Take time to watch this video doc!
- Navigation Apps Changed the Politics of Traffic –Have they or is this just another deflecting story over the real war on cars?
National War on Cars Watch Headlines
- NHTSA Crash Test Ratings Will Be Expanded and Upgraded
- The demise of the car key: Tesla, Lincoln lead auto industry in ditching keys for mobile entry
- Viewpoint: Our concept of mobility is transforming — but 3 roadway realities are unchanged –people still drive and still need their cars to commute to work!
- Protected Bike Lanes that Work for Everyone-A new Design Guide (War on Cars Watch)
- Pot-Legal States Struggle to Stem Rise in Driving While Stoned
- Sit Back, Relax and Enjoy Your Car in the Driveway –How many of you do this?
- There’s No App for Getting People out of Their Cars (War on Cars Watch) –And there never will be either!
- The Era of Car-Clogged City Streets Is Over (War on Cars Watch) –Yeah—no one believes you!
- Why an All-of-the-Above Transportation Strategy Doesn’t Work –Nope…but it should never be an either/or either!
- Technology-Assisted Brakes Not As Good As “Engaged” Drivers
- Crash Not Accident: Better Road-Safety Reporting Could Save Lives, Show Researchers (War on Cars Watch) –Quit trying to tell us how to write and talk about things researchers. Unfortunately, accidents and crashes for many of us are interchangeable words and have no bearing on road safety in general.
- Technologies that can still save the internal combustion engine
International War on Cars Watch Headlines
- Highway to hell: the rise and fall of the car (War on Cars Watch)
- Canada Advocacy Group says British Columbia is torqueing data to justify larger fines, lower speed limits
- Dutch government to cut speed limit to reduce NOx emissions –Big Story—many folks upset but why should we be surprised what they do in Europe…it might and it might not have an effect on the US!
- Ireland: Motorists breaking speed limits by 30km/h may face €2,000 fine
- South Africa may have new speed limits soon
Regional and Local War on Cars Watch Headlines
California
- California Court Upholds Warrantless GoPro Seizure
- SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments) outlines draft plan which aims to improve transportation and air quality in Southern California (Complete Streets Watch)
- Berkeley looks to give cyclists more leeway at stop signs (Idaho Stop) (Vision Zero Watch)
- Road Diet Watch: Is Yucca Street Los Angeles’ First & Last Bike Boulevard?
- San Francisco may consider cutting speed limits to 20 miles per hour
- Quest to Make San Jose Streets Safer Crashes into Worsening Pedestrian, Cyclist Injury Stats (Vision Zero Watch)
- Road Diet Watch: Ventura’s Montalvo neighborhood set to get sidewalks, bike lanes in $1.56 million project
Colorado
- Road Diet Watch: Longmont has plan to alter Main Street corridor to keep up with city’s growth –does this strike you as a strange headline—going to induce a road diet to keep up with city growth…what is wrong with this picture?
- Commentary: End Denver’s unfair war on car commuters –Excellent viewpoint and could be written about any urban area in the US!
District of Columbia
- 270 traffic signals in DC’s Northwest now give pedestrians and cyclists more time to cross
- D.C. empowers bike lane enforcement officers to issue photo tickets to drivers
Georgia
Massachusetts
- Boston needs better pedestrian safety strategy, council president says (Vision Zero Watch)
- Editorial: Act now to make Boston streets safe (Vision Zero Watch)
- Should Boston ban cars from its downtown? (War on Cars Watch)
- Epic traffic paralyzes the Boston region as gridlock grips the halls of power
New York
- New York City Neighbors unite for a street fight –More neighbors to unite to defeat road diets—please remember—all traffic is local and this is where the fight has to begin!
- NYC Road Diet Watch: City Mulls Protected Bike Lanes on Lower East Side
Oregon
- Deal With It—Commuters Need Cars in Portland, Oregon –Love this headline…very good advice too!
Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania bill would tweak speed timing device rule (NMA mention)
- Philadelphia to test a bus-forward traffic hack on deadly Roosevelt Boulevard
- Pittsburgh prepares master plan to boost bicycling on city streets
Tennessee
Texas
- Austin traffic deaths going up for first time since adopting Vision Zero (Vision Zero Watch)
- Increased traffic congestion delays fire department and emergency medical services response time in Austin (War on Cars Watch)
- San Antonio Bike lane project gets $6M–Folks are still upset (War on Cars Watch)
Virginia
- Alexandria Road Diet Watch: Frustrations Arise as Seminary Road Lanes are Reconfigured –Big local group here opposing this road diet! Here is another story about Seminary Road! Seminary Road: Residents, City Officials React to ‘Diet’
Vermont
Wisconsin
- City of Madison tests parking-protected bike lane, asks for public input –Madison sits on an Isthmus between lakes is this really a good idea to reduce lanes when biking is not very viable almost six months out of the year?
That’s this week’s War on Car Watch blog. If you find a story online about the War on Cars, please feel free to email the URL to me at nma@motorists.org.
Check out the NMA Facebook Page called the War on Cars Watch
Be Safe Out There,
Shelia Dunn
NMA Communications Director
P.S. Here are a few NMA Blog Posts the might interest you:
