Alabama State Route 187, Driving Northbound, near US Route 43. Photo Taken by formulanone (cc by 2.0)
1. National Focus
2. Top Regional and Local Headlines
3. Motorist Corner
4. Best from Auto Press
5. Opinion
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National Focus
Driving news dominated the national headlines this week.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that in the second quarter, there was a small decline in traffic deaths around the country. Here is a spate of headlines that might pique your interest:
- NHTSA reports ‘crisis’ despite small decline in traffic deaths (Landline)
- Traffic deaths projected to decline, first time since 2020 (Autoblog)
- US traffic deaths dip in second quarter but remain high as pandemic eases (Fox Las Vegas)
- Deaths From Traffic Crashes Finally Show Signs of Slowing Down (Route-Fifty)
The US Rail Strike was Averted Late Last Week:
- US railroad strike averted by late-night deal (Autoblog)
- Agreement reached, no rail strike – for now (Landline)
- Railroad strike averted after marathon talks reach tentative deal (CNN)
- America Narrowly Avoided a Massive Railway Strike — For Now (Jalopnik)
- Deal averting railroad strike has potential to fall apart (The Hill)
- A deal to avert a rail strike is on track, but it won’t fix US supply chain issues (NPR)
- Railroad strike averted, preventing shutdown of commuter rail lines serving major cities (Smart Cities Dive)
- Five things to know about the railroad deal (The Hill)
- We haven’t completely dodged a ‘disastrous’ rail strike, rail workers say (FreightWaves)
Gas Prices are Always in the News:
- Analysis: OPEC+ leaders like $100 oil, won’t necessarily defend it (Reuters)
- Biden May Buy Oil Just Below $80; Democrats Stymied Trump at $24 (Bloomberg)
- Analysis: Lower oil prices defy robust forecasts for global demand (Reuters)
- After another decline, benchmark diesel price again below $5 per gallon (FreightWaves)
Surveillance Headlines are Never Dull:
- Members of Congress Urge FTC to Investigate Fog Data Science (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
- Senators petition ICE to curtail ‘Orwellian’ use of facial recognition, surveillance technology (FedScoop)
- Customs officials have copied Americans’ phone data at massive scale (Washington Post)
- Border Agents Are Grabbing Data From Americans’ Phones Without Warrants and Storing It for 15 Years (Gizmodo)
- Millions of license plates are scanned in order to combat crime. Is storing that information a Violation of Privacy (Fox North Carolina)
- Is There Such a Thing As an Ethical Smart City? (Curbed)
In General Auto Tech Watch News This Week:
- Safety experts push NHTSA for standards to ensure Automatic Emergency Brakes work at night (WFXL)
- To break an impasse in connected vehicle tech, transportation leaders call for a federal policy framework (Smart Cities Dive)
- NHTSA issues updated cybersecurity best practices for the safety of modern vehicles (JD Supra)
- Keyless ignition automatic engine shutoff to be required by Nov. 2023 in effort to curb carbon emissions (Repairer Driven News)
- Smart Headlights Are Around the Corner, to the Relief of That Driver You’re Blinding (CNET)
- US Steel Says Accelerating Headwinds Eroding Metal Demand (Bloomberg)
- Is the Automobile Industry being Mandated toward a Death Spiral? (New Geography)
- New Technology Helps Driverless Cars Navigate Bad Weather (IOT World Today)
- Upset by high prices, GM’s Cruise develops its own chips for self-driving cars (Reuters)
Here are some Electric Vehicle Headlines from the past Week:
- Biden to announce approval of $900 million in US EV charging funding (Reuters)
- Biden EV Charging Plan Aims to Banish Range Anxiety (Ward’s Auto)
- Biden declares ‘Detroit is back’ as he touts EVs, clean energy future (Autoweek)
- Biden touts 35-state EV charger network at Detroit auto show (The Detroit News)
- $2.4B for state EV charging infrastructure, other projects, announced by Biden administration (Smart Cities Dive)
- Making Batteries for All These EVs Will Require Over 300 New Mines (Jalopnik)
- What Biden’s EV charger funding approval means going forward (Auto News)
- Germany’s Bosch Warns EV Industry Over Battery Cell Reliance (Bloomberg HyperDrive)
- How State Laws Pose a Roadblock for One of Biden’s Infrastructure Goals (Route-Fifty)
- EV Sales Are Up, But So Are Lithium Prices (The Truth About Cars)
- Apartment and condo chargers vital to EV goal (Auto News)
A look at some EV Opinion Pieces from Around the Country:
- Report: Nobody Can Build Enough Electric Vehicles (The Truth About Cars)
- Opinion: California’s ban on gas-powered cars could put America in China’s control (Deseret)
- The future is electric, and it’s time for some American moxie (Tampa Bay Times)
- California Dream Could Become a Nightmare (The Daily Signal)
- Editorial: Rush to EVs has its dangers (Journal Times)
- Laws aimed at getting us to switch to electric vehicles show we have a long road ahead (Chicago Tribune)
Infrastructure Watch Headlines:
- Clash Over Infrastructure Permitting Heats Up on Capitol Hill (Route-Fifty)
- 26 Freight Projects Selected To Share $1.5B of Infrastructure Grants (Route-Fifty)
- Feds Prepare to Open New $500M Program for Transportation Tech (Route-Fifty)
- De Soto Bridge Crack Repair Makes Finals for America’s Transportation Awards (Equipment World)
Streetsblog USA annual Highway Boondoggles Reports
- Part I: Maryland’s Misguided Highway Extension (Streetsblog USA)
- Part II: Induced Demand Across the Ohio River (Streetsblog USA)
- Part III: Two Big Garden State Mistakes (Streetsblog USA)
- Part IV: Erie’s ‘Mistake by the Lake’ (Streetsblog USA)
- Part V: Duluth’s ‘Can of Worms’ (Streetsblog USA)
- Part VI: Martinsville’s Big Miss (Streetsblog USA)
Transit Watch Headlines This Week:
- With attacks on public transit up, cities struggle to make riders feel safer (Smart Cities Dive)
- Return-to-Office Push Does Little to Solve Transit Agency Problems (Bloomberg CityLab)
- Transit agencies can’t hire enough drivers to keep the buses running (Smart Cities Dive)
Trucking Industry Headlines This Week:
- OOIDA encourages members to support Guaranteeing Overtime for Truckers Act (Landline)
- FMCSA wants truckers’ feedback on ELD regulations (Landline)
- Fleets Prepare for AB 5 Enforcement as Legal Battles Continue (Transport Topics)
- Big Change For Big Rigs: California Unveils Mandate To Phase Out Diesel Trucks (LAist)
- Hydrogen Fuel Cell Trucks Could Finally Beat Diesel Trucks in Efficiency (Jalopnik)
In National Driving News Headlines:
- 4 Federal Departments: We’re Joining Forces to ‘Decarbonize’ the American Road (Car and Driver)
- Democrats at ‘Impasse’ Over Added Funding for Police Grants (Route-Fifty)
- Insurers force change on police departments long resistant to it (Washington Post)
- Opinion: US Privacy Bill Would Undermine California Protections (GovTech)
- Why hybrid work schedules have made some commutes worse (Washington Post)
- The Uber Hack’s Devastation Is Just Starting to Reveal Itself (Wired)
- Summer of Theft Creating Bad Publicity for Hyundai, Kia (The Truth About Cars)
- America’s E-Bike Revolution Is in Trouble (Treehugger)
In International Driving News Headlines:
- EU opens road to 5G connected cars in boost to BMW, Qualcomm (Reuters)
- The European automobile industry is going quantum (TheNextWeb)
- Red Light Camera Program to be Expanded in Regina, Saskatchewan (Fresh Google News)
- China Sends a Warning to the U.S. About Domestic EV Battery Production (Jalopnik)
- The death of Das Auto: Can German cars survive the end of the engine? (Politico)
- Dutch students devise carbon-eating electric vehicle (Reuters)
- India: Electric Scooter Fire Ignites Showroom, Kills 8 in Deadliest Incident Yet (Western Journal)
For a daily dose of motorist rights news, check out the NMA Driving News Feed today!
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Top Regional and Local Headlines
Alabama
- Where are the 20 worst speed traps in Alabama? (Alabama Online)
- Inside Alabama’s worst speed traps (Alabama Online)
- Troy becomes first Vision Zero City in Alabama (Troy Messenger)
Arizona
- Arizona traffic fatalities at 15-year high, data shows (AZ Central)
- Huge Win’ for Civil Liberties as Judge Blocks Arizona Law Limiting Filming of Police (Common Dreams)
- Vision Zero Watch: Phoenix will spend millions of dollars to make streets safer (Axios)
- Tucson moving toward Vision Zero goal of zero traffic fatalities (KVOA)
California
- AB5 webinar hints at how law will apply to trucking (Landline)
- Millions of license plates are scanned in order to combat crime. Is storing that information a violation of privacy? (Fox40)
- Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP Files Lawsuit Against Tesla (Bakersfield Online)
- Drugs, gangs and broken glass: How cruising ended in Modesto and where it’s headed (Modesto Bee)
- Traffic Disruption Los Angeles: City Councilmember takes up Sunset4All plan (Urbanize Los Angeles)
- Oakland committee tentatively rejects license plate readers (KTVU)
- Pasadena Proposes 19 Street Improvement Projects for Remaining Metro 710 Funding (Streetsblog Los Angeles)
- How a Sacramento County ballot measure could derail region’s long sought light rail dreams (Sacramento Bee)
- Thieves Steal San Francisco PD’s Catalytic Converters Right in Front of the Station (The Drive)
- $50 Million in San Francisco Residents’ Traffic Fees Wiped: How To Check Yours (San Francisco Standard)
- Traffic Disruption Update: San Francisco MTA Rolling Back Planned Road Diet on Franklin (Streetsblog San Francisco)
- San Francisco Wants a Bike Lane in the Middle of This Busy Road. Locals Think It’s ‘Dangerous’ (San Francisco Standard)
- San Jose expanding use of license plate reader cameras, reviewing data privacy (KTVU)
Colorado
- Speed cameras, unpopular but shown to make roads safer, could become a lot more common in Colorado (Colorado Public Radio)
- New interchange begins today for drivers in Colorado Springs (Yahoo News)
- Mile-High City (Denver) Halts Two Highway Expansions — And Gives the Money to Transit Instead (Streetsblog USA)
Illinois
- We’re being railroaded’: IL Suburban leaders blast railroad merger plan in front of federal regulators (Chicago Daily Herald)
- Chicago’s Milwaukee Avenue Block On Northwest Side Shut Down Through December To Replace Bridge, Speed Up $36 Million Project (Block Club Chicago)
- Chicago Editorial: Distracted drivers should get ticketed — the right way (Chicago Sun-Times)
- Sometimes-deadly wrong-way crashes are growing more frequent in Chicago, statewide (CBS Chicago)
Michigan
- Detroit Officials to Revisit $5.8M Expansion of ShotSpotter (GovTech)
- Detroit wins grant to remove interstate (I-375) that wrecked a Black community (Washington Post)
- Buttigieg awards grant to tear down divisive Detroit highway (AP News)
- Ypsilanti City, Michigan Council bans license plate readers citing invasion of privacy (WEMU)
New York
- Environmental study of congestion-pricing plans has Bronx residents asking: What’s in it for us? (Gothamist)
- NYC’s Gridlock Sam: Give Truckers Credits So Congestion Toll Doesn’t Add to Bronx Pollution (Streetsblog NYC)
- Manhattan Garage Owners Worry There Won’t Be Enough Cars to Go Around After Congestion Pricing (The City)
- OPINION: Congestion Pricing Will Bring Cleaner Air for All (Streetsblog USA)
- NWRA seeks exemption for haulers from NYC’s congestion tolling program (Waste Today Magazine)
- Response times to NYC crimes, fires and medical emergencies soar (NY Post)
- Will NYC establish an automated enforcement school bus camera program? (Staten Island Live)
- NYC Community Panel Votes Down Eastern Queens Bike Lanes — But DOT Says it Will Move Forward (Streetsblog NYC)
- New York State Thruway Toll Evaders to Have Registration Suspended (WPDH)
- Proposal to lower Troy speed limits met with support (WNYT)
Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania phasing in new driver’s license design (WGAL)
- PennDOT continues plans to replace 6 bridges formerly on the tolling program (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
- Pennsylvanians remain skeptical of autonomous vehicles (Landline)
- Philadelphia pays $30K to two ‘courtesy’ tow victims, but class-action suit continues (Philadelphia Inquirer)
- Pittsburgh Regional Transit zero-emission fleet to cost $572.2 million by 2045 goal (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Texas
- Council OKs Austin police data collection program pilot, sends oversight measure to May election (Community Impact)
- ‘Reimagine Policing’ Activist Derides Austin Mayor After Petition Fails Council Vote, Sent to May 2023 Ballot (The Texan)
- Austin likely to let police bring back controversial license plate cameras (The American Statesman)
- El Paso City Council moves ahead with Vision Zero resolution to eliminate traffic deaths (El Paso Times)
- Houston-area suburb (Humble) collects millions operating red light cameras after 2019 state ban (Click2Houston)
- Does a Fetus Count in the Carpool Lane? Texas’ Abortion Law Creates New Questions About Legal Personhood (Route-Fifty)
Virginia
- Virginia traffic deaths continue to rise (Axios)
- Northern Virginia’s transportation authority proposes a region-wide rapid transit network (Greater Greater Washington)
- Portsmouth police adopt new technology in an effort to tackle crime (13 News Now)
Regional and Local Driving News Headlines
- DC bill would put points on licenses for violations caught on traffic cameras (WTOP)
- Florida Rollover Accidents Have Higher Fatality Rates Than Other Accidents (Lawyers.com)
- ‘An excuse to racially profile’: How Florida trains police on bias (Tampa Bay Times)
- Savannah, GA officials introduce ‘Vision Zero’ action plan to reduce traffic-related deaths (Fox Savannah)
- Kansa DOT to receive $39.5 million for electric vehicle charging infrastructure (WIBW)
- Governor Andy Beshear: Kentucky to get nearly $70M for electric vehicle charging network (Transportation Today News)
- Video: 700-Foot Truss Floated 14 Miles for New Kentucky Bridge (Equipment World)
- Should they stay or go? Councilman wants answers on effectiveness of Red-Light Camera program in Baton Rouge (WAFB)
- After months of heated debate, the New Orleans City Council votes to remove some protected bike lanes in Algiers (WWNO)
- Boston’s Transit Deficit Could Grow to $421 Million by 2024 (Governing)
- MA Data Show Uber and Lyft Drivers Were Involved in Over 1,000 Crashes in the City of Boston Last Year (Streetsblog Massachusetts)
- Camera to enforce speed limit on major highway in Harford County, MD (WBAL)
- Maine: Spike in motorcycle deaths reveals common themes (News Center Maine)
- 15 Years Later: The MN I-35 Bridge Collapse and the Lessons Carried On (JD Supra)
- Renewal of license plate-reading cameras set for public hearing in Jackson, MS (Mississippi Live)
- Lawsuit filed over controversial Ocean Springs, MS traffic cameras that scan for car insurance (Sun Herald)
- Hoboken, NJ reduces city speed limit to 20 mph in effort to reduce traffic-related deaths (News12 Westchester)
- New Mexico To Receive $38 Million To Support Expansion Of Electric Vehicle Charging Network (Los Alamos Daily Post)
- Theft ring stole some 13,000 catalytic converters worth $19M in central Ohio (The Columbus Dispatch)
- Ohio Court Case: Sleeping in a car after party leads to ticket. Sloppy law wording helps woman beat case (The Columbus Dispatch)
- Providence is Creating Mini-Surveillance State, Says Rhode Island ACLU of Potential for Even More Cameras (Go Local Providence)
- South Carolina: Supreme Court upholds civil asset forfeiture law, urges legislative reform (Post and Courier)
- Utah Readies Mobile Driver’s License Rollout (Route-Fifty)
- West Seattle Bridge reopens after 2 ½-year closure (Seattle DOT)
- Spokane, WA City Council to consider changing how the city spends civil asset forfeiture fund (Fox Spokane)
- Green Bay, WI police want more license plate reader cameras (WBAY)
In Motorist-Related Legislative News this Week:
- CA Bill AB2206 Would Benefit Workers Who Don’t Use Free Employee Parking (Streetsblog California)
- Private Lot Booting Could Soon Be Legal In All Of Chicago As Controversial Ordinance Clears Huge Hurdle, Heads To City Council (Block Club Chicago)
- Kentucky targets commercial motor vehicles with driver-focused cameras (Landline)
- MA Legislature Approves Long-Stalled Traffic Safety Bill With Compromises on Bike Light Requirements (Streetsblog Massachusetts)
- Fuel tax relief pursued at Missouri statehouse (Landline)
- West Virginia Governor Jim Justice signs bills to pay for road work (Landline)
Check out the NMA State Pages today!
Motorist Corner
In the Driving in America Blog, it’s Week Three of NMA’s Driver Courtesy Month 2022, and NMA Blogger Eric Peters discusses The Non-Replacement for Displacement.
In his Saturday car review, Peters gives his take on the 2022 Jaguar E-Pace.
NMA in the News this Week:
More red-light cameras are coming to Philly streets, including one by the Rocky statue (Philadelphia Inquirer)
If you have written and had posted a motorist rights advocacy letter-to-the-editor or find a news story where the NMA is mentioned, please send us the link via email nma@motorists.org. Here are some links of interest: the NMA website, NMA Issues Pages, and the NMA Blog. Check them out today!
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Best from Auto Press
- Diesel Ram Owner Forced to Scrap Truck Over Deleted Emissions Equipment (The Drive)
- The Man Who Signs Every Car (Road and Track)
- Documentary: Coding the Car Seeks to Understand Where Connected Cars Are Headed Next (Jalopnik)
- NY Times Daily Podcast: On the Ocean Floor, A Key to Electric Vehicles (NY Times)
News and Insights from the Detroit Auto Show:
- 2022 North American International Auto Show – Detroit’s a Vibe, Alright (The Truth About Cars)
- What the Detroit auto show reveals about the future of mobility (Axios)
- 2022 Detroit Auto Show Mega Photo Gallery | Back in the Motor City (Autoblog)
- The 2022 North American International Auto Show Was a Depressing Ghost Town (Jalopnik)
- Autoblog: 2022 Detroit Auto Show Editors’ Picks (Autoblog)
- Total Car Score Podcast: President Joe Biden at the Detroit Auto Show–and the new 2024 Mustang (The Car Coach)
- This New Electric ‘Flying Car’ Can Be Piloted With a Driver’s License—and It Will Fit in Your Garage (Yahoo News)
- It’s awesome’: world’s first flying bike makes US debut at Detroit Auto Show (Yahoo News)
- Car guy Biden tours Detroit Auto Show, announces $900 million for EV chargers (Autoblog)
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Opinion
Highway Deaths in Rural America
Researchers found that between 2016 and 2020, 40 percent of US traffic deaths occurred on rural roads. A total of 85,002 people died in rural areas during the five-year study period—nearly half of all traffic deaths across the country. This is significant because only 19 percent of the country’s population lives in rural America.
The question is, why?
(click on title for full op-ed)