Driving in America This Week – June 12, 2022

Sandhills Scenic Drive, NC

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

Traffic safety continues to be at the top of the chart on Driving News.

Landline reported that the COVID-19 pandemic sparked an aggressive driving culture. That’s according to officials from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Governing claimed that deaths and injuries in road accidents are a silent epidemic on wheels worldwide. Streetsblog USA opined that the government and the auto industry need to make cars safer for people outside of vehicles.

Policy Genius reported on a study that 3 in 10 Americans claim they have been victims of road rage in the last two years. According to a graphically detailed opinion from Bloomberg, New York City is much safer than small-town America.

The auto industry reported that the chip crisis is easing as global growth slows. There is also a summer deadline looming for $52 billion to boost chip production in the US.

Transport Topics reported that President Biden will devote $2.1 billion to strengthen the food supply chain, and in another post, supply snarls are already easing in the US.

A bipartisan congressional bill (if passed) would establish a set of all-encompassing federal data privacy standards, which would impact motorists. EPIC (Electronic Privacy Information Center) came out with two updates on protecting our privacy:

• Clearview AI Banned From Selling Facial Recognition Database Access to Companies
• Senators Urge Federal Trade Commission to Investigate ID.me’s Facial Recognition Claims

If you drive, you already know that gas prices are at the top of any motorist’s mind at the moment.

CNN reported that gas prices surged 25 cents in a week and hit a new record.  At a California gas station, prices reached an incredible $10 per gallon. Reuters posted this headline: Oil tops $120 a barrel on Saudi pricing despite OPEC+ deal. On top of that, Reuters wrote an in-depth dive into how the oil shortage is affecting Africa. President Biden’s Administration also announced that he is leaning toward visiting Saudi Arabia soon. The Hill announced that the US will allow Venezuelan oil to be shipped to Europe. A US Congressman introduced a bill to suspend the federal gas tax.

Here are some other gas price headlines that might be of interest:

• Where Gas Prices Are Headed This Summer (Autoweek)
• The Average Price of Gas is Now Over $5 in 11 States (Jalopnik)
• Gas prices level off a bit but seem doomed to keep rising (Autoblog)
• The real reason gas is so damn expensive: Don’t just blame oil prices, blame refineries too (Grid)
• Where Are Oil Prices Headed? (Oil Price)
• Pump shock: Why gas prices are so high (Washington Post)
• Gas prices are skyrocketing. Here’s why people haven’t cut back on spending – yet (CNN)
• Gas prices are vulnerable to a disastrous spike this summer as a busy hurricane season could intensify a US energy crunch (Business Insider)
• Should the US impose a windfall tax on oil and gas companies? (San Diego Union-Tribune
• USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg: “Price of gasoline is not set by a dial in the Oval Office” (Axios)

Here are a few posts about diesel prices:

• The average price of diesel in the US just hit a new record. It’s now $5.70 a gallon (FreightWaves)
• Diesel once again racing higher than prices for crude oil, gasoline (FreightWaves)
• Benchmark diesel price down again, East Coast shows more signs of normalcy (FreightWaves)

Clean energy and biofuels were also in the news this week…plus an idea on how to clean up oil spills:

• Biden Invokes Defense Production Act to Boost Clean Energy Manufacturing (Defense One)
• US Department of Energy to invest $59M to expand biofuels production, target emissions in hard-to-decarbonize sectors (Transportation Today News)
• US Boosts Biofuel Quotas as Gas Prices Surge (Transport Topics)
• Fuel-Eating Bacteria from Your Gas Cap May Help Clean Oil Spills (Car and Driver)

Motorist-related research fun:

• Car tires produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show (The Guardian)
• Federal funding uncertainty affects transportation planning, study finds (Smart Cities Dive)
• Research: Reliability of Open Public Electric Vehicle Direct Current Fast Chargers (SSRN)
• Study Claims EV Charging Reliability Is a Problem (The Truth About Cars)
• Research: A 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 can be achieved. Here’s how (Science Daily)

The War on Cars media certainly worked overtime this week:

• The Supreme Court just okayed Biden’s “social cost of carbon.” It’s still way too low (VOX)
• Streetsblog USA Podcast The Brake: Why Every City Needs a Car Master Plan (Streetsblog USA)
• War on Cars Watch: We’ve Got to Stop Requiring Parking Everywhere (NY Times)
• Let’s End Traffic Stops: Require Speed Limiting Tech in US Cars (Planetizen)

Infrastructure in the news this week:    

• USDOT Suspends Buy America Requirements (JDSupra)
• DOT to invest $450M of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funds in up to 35 University Transportation Centers (Transportation Today News)
• 26 Road Projects Win National Awards for Long-Lasting Pavements (Equipment World)
• Passenger and freight rail projects in 32 states get millions from US DOT (Virginia Mercury)
• A Long-Eared Bat Could Hold Up Infrastructure Projects, ARTBA Fears (Equipment World)
• Throwing Money at Infrastructure Projects Is Not Enough (GovExec)
• Two States (CA and CO) Cancel Highway Expansions After Years of Planning (Route-Fifty)
• Planners Eye New Freight Corridor (NM to TX) Thanks to Interstate Designation (Transport Topics)

Auto Tech Watch Driving News this week: 

• Self-driving car companies’ first step to making money isn’t robotaxis (CNBC)
• Roadside Objects Can Trick Driverless Cars (Route-Fifty)
• Metals costs could slow race for cheaper electric cars, researchers say (Auto News Europe)
• Eight automakers adopt US EV fire response recommendations (Reuters)
• USPS plans to accelerate its EV buying strategy (Autoblog)
• The Next Challenge for Solid-State Batteries? Making Lots of Them (Wired)
• Ford Testing GPS Geofencing Tech to Curb Speeding (Autoweek)

Trucking Industry News this week:                                                          

• FMCSA Technology Chief Says Automated Truck Proposal Targeted for Late 2022 (Transport Topics)
• FMCSA increases safety grants by 52% (Landline)
• OOIDA encourages members to comment on speed-limiter mandate (Landline)
• Listen to truckers about highway safety, OOIDA Foundation says (Landline)
• Midwest DOTs need truckers’ input regarding truck parking information systems (Landline)
• Pandemic Spurred Change in Industry, Transportation Professionals Say (Transport Topics)
• Autonomous Electric Trucks Could Deliver Hydroelectric Power Straight to the Grid (Jalopnik)
• California Trucking Association says AB5 would ‘upend’ industry (Landline)
• Big rig demonstrates why you shouldn’t park on the interstate (Autoblog)

Other National Driving News This Week:    

• State officials warn of increased summer blackouts (Axios)
• President Biden Signs Executive Order Requiring Scrutiny of Police Surveillance Tools (EPIC)
• Stellantis Unit Pleads Guilty, Will Pay $300M in US Diesel Probe (NADA)
• Key Roles at US Department of Transportation Now Filled After Senate Confirmations (USDOT)
• IIHS Plans to Increase the Difficulty in Vehicle-to-Vehicle Crash Tests (MotorBiscuit)
• Police Oversight Boards Proliferate After George Floyd’s Death (Route-Fifty)
• Why Local Action Is Important to Combat Police Brutality and Racial Injustice (Route-Fifty)
• Battle Over Status of Uber and Lyft Drivers Returns to the Ballot Box in MA (Route-Fifty)
• Uber and Lyft Are Out of Ideas, Jacking Up Prices in Desperation for Profit (VICE)

International Driving News This Week:      

• World events are fanning new interest in hydrogen (Auto News)
• Global metro ridership dropped 40 Percent during 2020 as pandemic hit (International Railway Journal)
• EU court says Dieselgate vehicle owners can claim damages (Autoblog)
• Canada: 5 years of Ellen’s Law bring a shift in culture, calls for tweaks (Motorists Passing Bicyclists) (CBC)
• Ticket Cam Alert Canada: Speed cameras coming to Newfoundland and Labrador highways, municipal roads, constructions zones, and school bus arms by end of 2023, maybe sooner (Saltwire)
• How Shanghai Lockdowns Are Changing the Auto Industry (The Truth About Cars)
• Geely Launches Nine Low-Orbit Satellites for Autonomous Cars, Will Add 63 More by 2025 (Auto Evolution)
• US asks Mexico to probe alleged labor abuses at Stellantis parts plant (Auto News Europe)
• Low emission zones: Most-polluting cars to be barred from four Scottish city centres (BBC)
• Spanish Sustainable Mobility Law makes progress (ELTIS)
• Here’s why Switzerland blows the Rest of the World out of the Water with Their Infrastructure (Digg)
• New Fleet of Mobile Speed Cameras in Tasmania (Tasmanian Times)
• Turkey raises speed limits on highways starting from July (Daily Sabah)
• UK Peak car: is private car ownership on the wane? (Car Magazine)
• UK: Car-free high street in Gloucestershire turned into ‘ghost town’ (The Telegraph)

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

Motorist-Related Legislative News

• California: Legislating at the Intersection of Transportation and Housing Policy (AB2097–banning Parking Mins and AB1778–no to highway widening) (Streetsblog California)
• Assembly Leadership Fight Has Implications for High-Speed Rail (Streetsblog California)
• New Bill SB457 Would Create an Incentive to Go Car-Free in California (Streetsblog California)
• New Colorado law (SB35) provides owner-operators occupational accident insurance (Landline)
• Connecticut Enacts Privacy Law (EPIC)
• IL Governor J.B. Pritzker signs new bill geared toward curbing catalytic converter theft (WBBM 780)
• Massachusetts lawmakers plan to override Governor Charlie Baker’s veto on driver’s license bill (WJAR)
• User fee system would improve Michigan road funding, report says (Transportation Today News)
• Gas money: NC Lawmakers want to give drivers $200 to combat record prices (WCNC)
• New York state passes first-ever ‘right to repair’ law for electronics (including vehicles) (The Verge)
• Ohio May Place Electric Vehicle Charging Costs onto Customers (SB307) (Governing)
• Pennsylvania Lawmakers Float Consumer Data Control Legislation          (GovTech)
• An outdated parking rule in PA law threatens the safest kind of bike lanes (HB140) (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
• West Virginia law authorizes autonomous vehicles (Landline)

California                                                                                                      

• California Appeals Court: Uber Escapes Liability for Sexual Assaults by Impostor Drivers (Bloomberg Law)
• California’s Rural Areas Risk Being Left Out in EV Push (GovTech)
• Editorial: California needs to slash carbon pollution. Its pie-in-the-sky plan falls short (Los Angeles Times)
• War on Cars Opinion: California cities are unwalkable, unbikeable and dangerous — but they don’t have to be (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Marin County Sheriff won’t share license plate data with agencies outside California (KTVU)
• Ninth Circuit Okays Los Angeles Program Tracking E-Scooter Riders’ Location (EPIC)
• Los Angeles Metro and the Future of the 405 Freeway Corridor (Streetsblog Los Angeles)
• Traffic Disruption Los Angeles: Metro scales back North Valley BRT project (Urbanize Los Angeles)
• Los Angeles Bus Rapid Transit: A Crisis on Colorado Blvd. through Eagle Rock (City Watch Los Angeles)
• Los Angeles Metro spends $10 million on roadside call boxes. Are they still needed? (Los Angeles Daily News)
• Paradise Police Body Cams Turn on Automatically (GovTech)
• California Man Fined $573K for Fixing Broken Cars in His Yard (The Drive)
• Balboa Park street project tests San Diego’s commitment to biking, transit goals (KPBS)
• Self-driving cars from GM’s Cruise could soon carry paying riders in San Francisco (Reuters)
• Red-light cameras here to stay as the city of Ventura extends traffic contract (Ventura County Star)

Georgia                                                                                                         

• Georgia DOT looks to widen Highway 17 (WGAU)
• Atlanta voters approve infrastructure funds (Landline)
• Atlanta’s Transit System Spends Too Much on Operations (Governing)
• Peachtree Corners Continues to Lead the Way in American Smart Cities (NextGov)

Illinois                                                                                                            

• Illinois Op-Ed: The impact of Illinois taxes on our business and any others near the border of a neighboring state is enormously negative. (Illinois Policy)
• Illinois Question: With electric vehicle sales growing, how will we pay for road repairs? (Daily Herald)
• Illinois Tollway begins construction on new Tri-State Tollway interchange in southwest Chicago suburbs (WBBM 780)
• Chicago Ranked Among Cities With Most Expensive Commutes (NBC Chicago)
• Chicago Area: More Expressway Cameras Coming to Cook County Expressways, DuSable Lake Shore Drive Under New Law (WTTW)
• Chicago: Gold Coast Neighbors Association will buy license plate readers and surveillance cameras to supplement private security patrols, fundraising letter says (CWB Chicago)
• You’re Being Tracked In Clarendon Hills with ALPRs (Patch IL)

Kentucky                                                                                                      

• RiverLink rates to make highest annual jump since tolling began (WDRB)
• Kentucky panel recommends RiverLink increase in line with previous hikes (WDRB)
• Kentucky floats plan that could ‘minimize’ upcoming RiverLink toll hike (WDRB)
• KY Law Enforcement Agencies Keep Eye on Rising Fuel Costs (Officer.com)
• Vision Zero Watch: New proposed ordinance aims to eliminate Louisville traffic deaths (WHAS)

Louisiana                                                                                                      

• Baton Rouge, LA Police Use Federal Funds on New DNA Tech (Transport Topics)
• Police Tech Raises Privacy Concerns in East Baton Rouge, LA (GovTech)
• EPIC, Coalition Urge New Orleans City Council to Keep Police Facial Recognition Ban (EPIC)

Massachusetts                                                                                            

• More than 50,000 Massachusetts driver’s licenses and ID cards to be replaced due to printing error (MassLive)
• Boston, MassDOT Seek ‘Mega’ Cash to Build Allston/I-90 Project (Streetsblog Massachusetts)
• Traffic Disruption Update: Boston Begins Construction on ‘Mass. Ave. South’ Protected Bikeway in Dorchester (Streetsblog Massachusetts)

Michigan                                                                                                       

• Michigan Tries To Retain Industry Leadership In Fast Transition To EVs (Forbes)
• Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer Declares June As Airbag Recall Repair Month (CBS Detroit)
• Civil Asset Forfeiture Watch: To Promote Public Safety, Michigan Authorizes Cops To Rob Travelers at Airports (Reason)
• Case About Drones, Privacy Moves Through Michigan Courts (Transport Topics)

North Carolina                                                                                             

• NC lawmakers propose $200 gas tax refund for drivers (WRAL)
• How effective are red-light cameras in and around the NC Triangle (CBS Raleigh)
• Where did the money go? GoTriangle lays out light-rail spending for Orange County board (The News & Observer)
• Can you get a ticket for driving too slow in NC? Here’s what state law says (Charlotte Observer)
• Edenton ‘test drives’ license plate readers (Daily Advance)

Nevada                                                                                                          

• Nevada: Five infrastructure questions with U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (The Nevada Independent)
• Buttigieg Kicks Off I-15 Project at Las Vegas Strip (Transport Topics)
• Autonomous vehicle company Motional has big plans for Las Vegas’ transportation future (Las Vegas Sun)

New York                                                                                                      

• New York Suspends Gas Tax for Six Months (Transport Topics)
• Ticket Cam Alert: State Senate votes to approve 24-hour speed cameras in NYC (amNY)
• NYC pols propose traffic cameras to deter drivers from using bike lanes (NYPost)
• NYC councilman proposes fine on rental car companies, auto shops that hog street parking (NY Post)
• NYC councilman wants to yank 60K government-issued parking permits (NY Post)
• Vision Zero Watch: New York Must Stop Subsidizing Car Usage (Streetsblog NYC)
• New York City’s Slowest-in-the-Nation Buses are a Poster Child for Failure (Streetsblog NYC)

Ohio                                                                                                               

• Four Township Police Departments could soon patrol on Interstate Highways (HB206) (WFMJ)
• Cleveland Transit Joins Regional Mobile Ticketing System (GovTech)
• Hamilton Police Latest to Purchase Body Cameras (GovTech)

Pennsylvania                                                                                               

• Passenger and freight rail projects in 32 states, including PA get millions from US DOT (Pennsylvania Capital-Star)
• Changes coming to Pennsylvania Turnpike tolling payments (ABC27)
• Nearly mile-long Susquehanna River bridge in central PA to open in July (PennLive)

Texas                                                                                                             

• 1 in 3 Texas vehicle deaths are due to speed, TxDOT says (KVUE)
• TxDOT wants cops to crack down on speeders, but APD’s traffic enforcement units are understaffed (KERA)
• 53 Miles of Future Longest Highway Loop in US Open in Texas (Equipment World)
• Austin PD pushes for return of license plate readers, nixed during 2020 police budget cuts (Austin Monitor)
• Austin Transportation Department releases locations recommended for reduced speed limits (CBS Austin)
• Round Rock PD nears end of free trial for license plate camera program (KXAN)
• Texas Won’t Give You Its $2,500 EV Rebate for Buying a Tesla (Jalopnik)

Virginia                                                                                                          

• For This City (Alexandria, VA), Fare-Free Transit Is a Big Success (Governing)
• Vision Zero Watch: Pedestrian deaths reach record highs in Norfolk despite city’s initiative to reduce fatalities (The Virginian-Pilot)
• In this small Virginia town, citizens review police like Uber drivers (Washington Post)

Washington State                                                                                       

• Governor Jay Inslee Says Halting State gas Taxes Would Only Benefit gas and oil Companies (Big Country News Connection)
• Washington State Patrol: Fewer Drivers Stopping for Police (Officer.com)
• Seattle to cancel, refund 7 months of parking tickets (200,000) due to oversight (Fox News)

Other Regional and Local Driving News                                              

• ADOT making plans for electric vehicle charging stations along Arizona freeways (KTAR)
• Connecticut DMV to Revamp Website, Expand Online Services (GovTech)
• A DC stop-sign camera brought in $1.3 million in tickets in 2 years (Washington Post)
• Washington DC proposes nation’s largest annual fees for heavy vehicles (Autoblog)
• Self-Driving Cars Being Tested In Boca Raton, FL (WFLA)
• Vision Zero Watch Pinellas County, FL: Can we get to zero pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities? (ABC Tampa Bay)
• Hawaii Youth Sue State Over Transportation Climate Harms (Honolulu Civil Beat)
• Honolulu City Council approves HART light rail recovery plan (KITV)
• Indiana Toll Road rates to increase in July (Landline)
• Kansas Seized $21 Million From People Over the Past Two Years. Most Were Never Convicted of a Crime (Reason)
• Maryland: Takoma Park Police to Give Vouchers Instead of Tickets for Some Car Issues (NBC Washington DC)
• Maine City Installs EV Chargers to Boost Energy Independence (Governing)
• Welcome to SubTropolis, a Giant Underground Industrial Park and Road Network Built in an Old Mine near Kansas City, MO (The Drive)
• Manchester, NH Police to Expand Surveillance Network (GovTech)
• Trenton, NJ Works to Bring Autonomous Vehicles to City (GovTech)
• Why NJ is not ready (not close to ready) for massive EV implementation (ROI-NJ)
• Traffic Disruption RI: Providence to begin construction on Broad Street, adding new bike lanes (Providence Journal)
• Tennessee’s Arabic speakers work to add their language to driver license tests (Tennessee Lookout)
• Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson calls for universal driver’s education, funded by insurance companies (Milwaukee Journal Sentinital
• Wisconsin OWI law found unconstitutional by high court (Courthouse News)

Check out the NMA State Pages today! 

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Motorist Corner

NMA Blogger Eric Peters was busy this week. He had two posts on the Driving in America Blog:

• Slippin’ Clutch and Slippin’ Jimmy
• Luxury Isn’t What Luxury Once Was

He also released his latest vehicle review for the 2022 Jeep Grand Cherokee L.

The Car Coach, Lauren Fix, asked and answered a question in her vlog: How Much Fossil Fuel Does It Takes To Power An Electric Car?

The NMA was also featured in the media this week:

• Should you store sunscreen in your car this summer? Here’s what experts say (WJBF)
• Virginia Joins 20 Other States Banning Ticket Quotas for Traffic Cops (Good News Network)

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

• Report: US Automotive Market in Rough Shape (The Truth About Cars)
• These Gas-Saving Devices Are Complete Scams (Jalopnik)
• No, Millions of Cars Are Not Catching Fire Every Year (Car and Driver)
• Car Enthusiasts Love Hitting the Road, But Escape Has Many Meanings (Road and Track)
• See how the iconic Airstream has evolved over the past 90 years (Fast Company)
• BMW’s Design Chief on Grilles, Electrified Luxury, Big SUVs and a Future Sports Car (Road and Track)
• Ford Want to Eliminate the Worst Part of Buying a Car (GearPatrol)
• The wild 1980s Pontiac Stinger nailed the future of car design (Fast Company)
• Teslas Are Braking for No Reason, But That’s Not Autopilot’s Only Problem (Jalopnik)

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Opinion

Countering the Safe Streets/Vision Zero Mindset

Shortly after the NHTSA report was released, a related “U.S. Roadway Fatalities at 16-Year High” thread was started on the ITE Forum. Jay Beeber, NMA Research Fellow and ITE Member, suggested a reality check on the alarmist thread title:

“So the headline on this should be ‘U.S. Roadway Fatalities Down Slightly in 2021.’ With all due respect, the industry standard metric is the fatality “rate,” not the absolute number of fatalities. California has the largest number of roadway fatalities because it’s the state with the largest population and highest vehicle miles traveled. For this reason, you wouldn’t compare the total number of fatalities in California to Rhode Island. . .”

(click on title for full op-ed)