Sunny Kansas Highway, Photo Taken by Granger Meador (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
Are we prepared for the ramifications of a railroad strike in this country? A strike could happen as early as Friday. The trucking industry has called on Congress to help resolve the rail labor dispute. Congress has vowed to try to step in to avert the strike.
If it does happen, the interruption to rail service could cost $2B per day. Trains move one-third of all US exports and roughly 40 percent of long-distance freight volume. The American Trucking Associations states that 460,000 trucks would be needed to offset the effect of a potential rail strike.
Gas prices, of course, remain at the top of the Driving News Headline heap:
- Gas Prices Almost $3 In Some Places As National Drop Continues (Forbes)
- Lower gas prices are making Americans feel better about everything else (Quartz)
- Inflation edged up in August despite gas price decline (The Hill)
- Gas prices below $3 a gallon are starting to appear in the US. Can they last? (Quartz)
- California gas prices are going up. But prices are falling across the US. What’s going on? (Sacramento Bee)
- Diesel Drops 5.1¢ to $5.033 in Second Straight Decline (Transport Topics)
- Oil companies say they’re going green, but their investments tell another story (Grist)
- CATO Daily Podcast: The Jones Act and the Price of Gas (CATO)
Traffic safety is everyone’s concern and here are this week’s top headlines:
- NPR Consider This: Traffic Deaths Are At A 20-Year High. What Makes Roads Safe (Or Not)? (NPR)
- States Where Speeding Kills the Most People (247 Wall St.)
- Bike Lanes Don’t Make Cycling Safe (Forbes)
- Three Reasons So Many Drivers Leave Pedestrians and Bicyclists to Die (Streetsblog USA)
- Will the extra weight of EVs vs. ICE vehicles worsen road safety? (Green Car Congress)
- Electric Cars are More Dangerous than Conventional Cars, Says Global Insurance Company (Streetsblog NYC)
Auto Cybersecurity dominated headlines this week:
- NHTSA Updating Guidance for Connected Cars, Cybersecurity (The Truth About Cars)
- As Cyber Attacks on Cars Rise, So Does Related Cybersecurity (GovTech)
- This company aims to protect connected cars from cyberattacks (TechXplore)
- NHTSA doesn’t see cybersecurity as barrier to 3rd-party repairs (FreightWaves)
- NHTSA updates cybersecurity best practices (Transportation Today News)
- U-Haul discloses data breach exposing customer driver licenses (Bleeping Computer)
Street Surveillance always set a tone:
- 20 Years After 9/11, Surveillance Has Become a Way of Life (Wired)
- How police work with Google to obtain cellphone location data for criminal investigations (USA Today)
- Does The Government Record Everywhere You Drive? (MotorBiscuit)
- How Do Automatic License Plate Reader Systems Work? (MotorBiscuit)
- Rethinking Smart Cities (Route-Fifty)
- Why Smart Cities are About More Than Just Tech (Route-Fifty)
- CCTV camera confuses a woman for a car, issues ticket to car owner (Autoblog)
Auto Tech Watch headlines were varied but equally important:
- Toyota Reaches Potential $150 Million US Settlement Over Fuel Pump Recalls (NADA)
- Biden administration seeks waiver of ‘Buy American’ rules for EV chargers (The Detroit News)
- Commerce Department unveils semiconductor chip implementation plan (The Detroit News)
- With autonomous vehicle caucus, Congress members aim to advance technology for self-driving cars (Smart Cities Dive)
- States Gear Up to Spend $5B for National EV Charging System (Equipment World)
- EV Charging Is Still a Huge Problem for Renters (Jalopnik)
- The Growing Debate Over Where to Put EV Chargers in Rural America (Route-Fifty)
- Key self-driving car feature can fail to spot pedestrians at night (The Sun UK)
- Truly autonomous cars may be impossible without helpful human touch (Reuters)
- There’s No Driving Test for Self-Driving Cars in the US–but there should be (The Verge)
Buying a vehicle soon? Here are some stories that might help in your quest:
- Used Car Wholesale Prices Dropped Substantially in August (Kelley Blue Book)
- Report: Wholesale Used Car Prices Are Coming Down, Don’t Get Too Excited (The Truth About Cars)
- The Average Age of a Used Car at Purchase Is 6.47, With Wide Variation Among States and Metros (Value Penguin)
- Paternalistic FTC Rule Would Stifle Consumer Choice in Auto Market (Competitive Enterprise Institute)
- How auto lending might be affected by proposed rule changes aimed at low-income borrowers (Auto News)
- When ‘Sport’ Doesn’t Mean Sport (Jalopnik)
- Things People Wished They’d Known Before Buying an EV (Consumer Reports)
Infrastructure Watch Headlines:
- Biden Announces 26 Appointments to Infrastructure Advisory Group (Transport Topics)
- Against Federal Guidance, States Plan to Expand Highways (Route-Fifty)
- The US Would Rather Waste Billions to Build New Highways Than Fix the Broken Ones (Jalopnik)
- How the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Could Fast-Track Harmful Highway Boondoggles (Streetsblog USA)
- Highway Boondoggles, Part I: Maryland’s Misguided Highway Extension (Streetsblog USA)
- US adopts minimum retro-reflectivity standards (World Highways)
- Concrete is more polluting than flying. Here are 4 innovative ways to clean it up (Fast Company)
Transit Watch Headlines:
- Lawmakers Push Amtrak to Restore Cut Routes and Expand Service (Route-Fifty)
- Public transit across the US is not nearly as crowded as it was before the pandemic (NPR)
- The Shifting Nature of Terror on US Transit (Streetsblog USA)
National Driving News Headlines:
- Will California’s Gas Vehicle Ban Help Lead the Nation? (Governing)
- Real ID: The Deadline to Update Your Driver’s License Is Closer Than You Think (CNET)
- Where in the US do drivers complain the most about the roads? (HiRoad)
- Auto repair industry report reveals surprising statistics on shop owners’ retirement plans (AutoLeap)
- NACTO calls for US bicycle law reformation to decriminalize biking in cities (Cycling Weekly)
- NHTSA proposes rule on heavy-duty engine/vehicle test procedures (Landline)
- Public Comment Mixed on FHWA’s Electric Charging Infrastructure Proposal (Transport Topics)
- Truckers’ overtime bill introduced in Senate (Landline)
International Driving News Headlines:
- We don’t have enough’ lithium globally to meet EV targets, mining CEO says (Yahoo Finance)
- Why urban streets around the world are going car-free (CNBC)
- How America’s Totaled Cars End Up Driving Again in the Third World (Jalopnik)
- No car loans from Bank Australia, unless it’s an EV — and the US may do the same (The Hill)
- Australia: NSW mobile speed cameras banned from hiding behind trees, signs, parked cars (Drive Australia)
- Australia TikTok’s “Camera Crusader Army” helps Central Coast residents dodge speeding fines (TdPelMedia)
- Regina, Saskatchewan looking to expand red-light camera program (Regina Leader-Post)
- Drones are used by China to issue commands to stay inside during strict lockdowns (TechnoTrenz)
- 55 Percent of Germans Support Temporary Autobahn Speed Limits (Jalopnik)
- Mercedes climate case dropped by German court, appeal planned (Auto News Europe)
- German authority’s probe finds ‘abnormalities’ in Tesla autopilot (Reuters)
- To Fight its Gas Crisis, Germany Proposes a New Cheap Transit Plan (Bloomberg CityLab)
- Japan says new US EV law may violate international law (Reuters)
- How Japan Won its ‘Traffic War’ (Bloomberg CityLab)
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
California
- California vows to ban gas-fueled cars. But its record on big climate promises is mixed (Los Angeles Times)
- NYTimes The Daily Podcast: Is California Jump-Starting the Electric Vehicle Revolution?(NY Times)
- California’s absurd war on cars (Los Angeles Daily News)
- Can California’s electric-car mandate survive future heat waves? (The Washington Post)
- California’s Electric Vehicle Push Is Not Causing Blackout Risk (Governing)
- How the Charging Infrastructure Can Keep Up with California—and EV Sales (Autoweek)
- California Demands Everyone Drive Electric Vehicles, but Can’t Even Keep the Lights on (Reason)
- Why California’s Parking Reform Matters for Housing and Climate (Governing)
- Caltrans Update: Progress on Complete Streets Policy (Streetsblog CA Analysis) (Streetsblog California)
- Automatic license plate readers are watching you in Fresno (Your Central Valley)
- Street racing takeovers are increasing as are crashes, deaths across LA County, police say (Los Angeles Daily News)
- Los Angeles County plans $15 million of bikeways, street improvements in South Whittier (Whittier Daily News)
- In Oakland street takeovers, young stunt drivers outmaneuver the police (San Francisco Examiner)
- How a Dangerous Highway Turned into a Kids’ Paradise (Governing)
- Motorists Vote 2022 California: What is Prop 30? The income tax for electric vehicles measure explained (ABC San Francisco)
- ‘It’s Going To Be a Mess’: Bike Lanes Touted to Save Downtown San Francisco—But Locals Aren’t Convinced (San Francisco Standard)
- San Francisco Parking Spot Goes on Sale for $90,000 (NBC Bay Area)
- Streetsblog San Francisco Op-Ed: San Jose Has Lost its Way on Traffic Safety (Streetsblog San Francisco)
- Santa Cruz RTC advances three phases of Multimodal Highway 1 projects (MassTransit)
Florida
- Florida’s secretive toll surveillance program: Five things to know (Ft. Myers News-Press)
- Motorists Vote2022: Legal challenge filed for Florida county transportation ballot question (Landline)
- Orlando to Tampa: Brightline, SunRail ‘Sunshine Corridor’ project could cost $6 billion, take 10 years to complete (Trains)
Georgia
- Atlanta Area: Georgia DOT project calls for separated I-285 toll lanes in each direction with transit component—but no rail (Urbanize Atlanta)
- Introducing ‘ATL Trains’: A revolutionary approach to Atlanta transit? (Urbanize Atlanta)
- Atlanta National Park dealing with influx of car break-ins (Sandy Springs, GA Police)
Hawaii
- Hawaii: HPD Uses High Technology To Catch Criminals (KITV)
- Automated License Plate Readers, or ALPRs, hope to help Honolulu Police crack down on crime (KITV)
- The ‘FCKBLM’ License Plate Holder Says Honolulu Is Violating His Free Speech Rights (Honolulu Civil Beat)
Illinois
- Illinois to Improve Highways in $34.6 Billion Program (Transport Topics)
- Illinois Appellate Court breathes new life into distracted driving lawsuit, opens door to possible refund of millions in fines (Chicago Sun-Times)
- Carvana Allowed to Buy, Sell Cars in Illinois While Defending Legal Challenges (NBC Chicago)
- Ticket Cam Alert Chicago: Neighbors call for speed camera at ‘notoriously’ dangerous Norwood Park intersection (CBS News)
Michigan
- Most vehicles speed past Kalamazoo, MI’s interactive speed limit signs (Michigan Live)
- Michigan weighs work zones cameras to catch speeders, slow traffic (Fox Detroit)
- Mobileye starts testing Level 4 Autonomous Driving in Detroit with over 50 NIO ES8s (Electric-Vehicles)
Minnesota
- Minnesota State Patrol Extends Speed Patrols Targeting Agressive Driving Through December (KTOE)
- What are the rules for driving near Minnesota school buses? Good Question (CBS News)
- Minneapolis light rail extension $9.5M over budget, 9 years behind schedule (Construction Dive)
- Small Minnesota Town (St. Mary’s Point) to Install License Plate Readers (GovTech)
Missouri
- Thousands of Missourians Will Need to Get an ID to Vote (Governing)
- St. Louis’ Private Police Forces Make Security a Luxury of the Rich (ProPublica)
- Opinion: A car-centric Kansas City is dangerous for pedestrians and cyclists — but it doesn’t have to be (Kansas City Star)
New Jersey
- Governor Phil Murphy Says NYC Congestion Pricing Can’t Burden New Jersey Taxpayers (Bloomberg CityLab)
- New Jerseyans Complain About Potholes More Than Anyone In US (Patch NJ)
- Cape May, NJ can’t drive 25, moves to reduce speed limits (Press of Atlantic City)
New York
- Be Ready for Speed Limit Changes across New York State (WYRK)
- NY to suspend registrations for serial Thruway toll evaders (Poughkeepsie Journal)
- NYC Congestion pricing at risk of being ‘eviscerated’ by toll cheats, exemptions: former MTA chief (amNY)
- If New York City charges a $23 fee to enter Manhattan by car, is that fair to lower-income drivers? (Los Angeles Times)
- It’s a global phenomenon — now New York is poised to lead the nation in congestion pricing (Politico)
- Uber: We Do Support Manhattan Congestion Pricing, But With One Caveat (Streetsblog NYC)
- OPINION: The Real ‘Cash Grab’ Isn’t Congestion Pricing — It’s a Repayment of a Debt (Streetsblog NYC)
- New York To Crack Down on Bus Lane Blocking Violations (Planetizen)
- How to prevent accidents, tickets amid back-to-school NY traffic (Spectrum NY)
- New York City’s first vehicle-to-grid charging installation is live in Brooklyn (Smart Cities Dive)
- City piloting eco-friendly recycled plastic asphalt on Staten Island streets; here’s where it’s being used (Staten Island Live)
- Traffic Disruption NYC: Upper East Side Panel Supports Crosstown Bike Lanes — Again (Streetsblog NYC)
- New Year, Same Dangers: NYC Mayor Eric Adams Has Made Only a Tiny Fraction of School Streets Safer (Streetsblog NYC)
- NYC: Environmental Justice Advocates Seek to Regulate ‘Last-Mile’ Trucking Facilities (Streetsblog NYC)
- Albany, NY considering dropping speed limit to 25 mph (Times Union)
- Traffic Disruption NY: Albany’s speed hump pilot program continues, with report on early results (WAMC)
Pennsylvania
- Pennsylvania Turnpike debt is larger than that of entire state, audit finds (KYW NewsRadio)
- Pennsylvania Turnpike audit finds uncollected toll problem grows to $155M (WFMJ)
- Pennsylvania Turnpike May Use Solar Power to Charge (GovTech)
Texas
- Flatiron Vows to Fix Design on Harbor Bridge at the Port of Corpus Christie after TxDOT Default Notice (Equipment World)
- Austin, TX Council Recap: No Deal on License Plate Readers (Austin Chronicle)
- Can San Antonio Become a Better Bike City? Not on State Roads (Governing)
Other Regional and Local Driving News Headlines
- Huntsville, AL focusing on bus rapid transit system, not light rail (Alabama Online)
- How Little Rock is Harnessing Data to Become a Smarter City (Route-Fifty)
- Phoenix Will Spend $10 Million Every Year Until There Are Zero Traffic-Related Fatalities (AZ Free News)
- Infrastructure Watch Colorado: $100 million grant for I-70 improvement (NBC Grand Junction)
- Smart cities incubator and accelerator program takes shape in Colorado (Smart Cities Dive)
- Sioux City police say crashes are declining near new speed cams on Floyd and Hamilton Boulevard (Sioux City Journal)
- Indianapolis adding hundreds of license plate cameras (WTHR)
- Lexington, KY PD releases status of new license plate readers (Fox Lexington)
- Why Louisville, KY Metro should have a Department of Transportation (Louisville Courier-Journal)
- Louisiana’s Fuel Tax Can’t Meet Road Needs, Audit Says (Transport Topics)
- Boston Mayor Michelle Wu Announces Major Expansion of Boston’s Bike Network (Streetsblog Massachusetts)
- Motorists Vote 2022: Question 4–Referendum on controversial driver’s license law will appear on Massachusetts ballot (WCVB)
- Drivers can expect a new speed camera on I-95 south in Harford County, MD (WMAR)
- Solar farms to be built along Maine highway despite opposition from Augusta officials (WMTW)
- Number of surveillance cameras tracking cars in Greensboro, NC to increase — by a lot (Greensboro News & Record)
- Durham, NC gets first glimpse of commuter rail study, and $3 billion price tag (The News & Observer)
- Despite Law, Nebraska License Plate Readers Cause Confusion (GovTech)
- Nevada Details Infrastructure Plans Online (Transport Topics)
- Akron police say license plate reader cameras will help ‘solve crimes’, ACLU of Ohio raises privacy concerns (ABC Cleveland)
- Providence, RI unveils driver’s license restoration program (WPRI)
- Rhode Island to Repave Pothole-Ridden I-295 (Transport Topics)
- Motorists Vote 2022: Multiple South Carolina county ballots to include transportation tax (Landline)
- Nashville Metro Council bans ALPR camera use in abortion investigations (WKRN)
- Nashville council passes law barring license plate reader use for anti-abortion law enforcement (The Tennessean)
- Virginia’s Tolled I-66 ‘Express Lanes’ to open on expressed timeline (Prince William Times)
- Arlington County, VA considers reduced speeds on some roads (WTOP)
- Washington State Hits 20-Year High of Pedestrian and Bicycle Deaths (Roads&Bridges)
- Imagining a Car-Free Zone in Bellevue, WA: Two Proposals (The Urbanist)
Motorist-Related Legislative News
- Alabama Driver’s license suspension bill should come back in 2023 session (Alabama Daily News)
- Arizona Law Tramples People’s Constitutional Right to Record Police (Electronic Frontier Foundation)
- California Idaho Stop Sign Bill (AB1713) is dead (Streetsblog California)
- California poised to give $1,000 to residents for not owning a car (SB457) (Smart Cities Dive)
- Streetsblog CA Op-Ed: Parking Reform (AB2097) is California’s Most Important Climate Bill (Streetsblog California)
- California Legislature approves bill to address wildlife-vehicle collisions (Landline)
- Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announces proposed legislation to provide toll relief (Transportation Today News)
- Nevada Is Clamping Down On Classic Car Registrations (AB349) (Motorious)
- NY Republicans campaigning against Midtown congestion toll plan (NY Post)
- Big brother (mandated speed limiters) may put an end to speeding in New York (KTLA)
- New York bill SB9528 mandates safety technology for passenger vehicles (Landline)
Check out the NMA State Pages today!
Motorist Corner
In this week’s E-Newsletter, we look into Green Bay, WI new community speed watch partnership between the police department and the neighborhood associations.
On the Driving in America blog, we showcase Week Two of NMA’s Driver Courtesy Month 2022 and one of our guest writers gives us his take on Things to Consider When Hauling Animals in a Horse or Stock Trailer.
The Car Coach, Lauren Fix, delves into the New California Bill Will Pay Residents $1,000 for Not Owning a Car.
NMA blogger Eric Peters reviews the 2022 Toyota Supra GR.
NMA in the news this week:
- Driver Courtesy Month: Here are top 5 tips to keep the peace on the streets (NBC Houston)
- PA Advocate Letter to the editor: Stop-arm cameras don’t solve problems (Trib Live)
- PA Letter to the Editor: Pennsylvania should drop school bus camera law (Reading Eagle)
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
Queen Elizabeth’s Connection to Vehicles
- United Kingdom’s first truck-driving queen dies at 96 (Hemmings)
- Queen Elizabeth II, The Gearhead Monarch, Has Died (Jalopnik)
- Queen Elizabeth II was a longtime automotive enthusiast (Autoblog)
- Queen Elizabeth II’s Car Collection Was Very Good, and Very British (The Drive)
Other Auto Press Headlines of Interest This Week
- President Biden to check out the Detroit Auto Show (Autoblog)
- No, Sleeping While Using Tesla Autopilot Is Not OK (ScreenRant)
- ‘VIP Style’ Cars: Explained (The Drive)
- Nearly 800 Pedal Cars up for Sale in a Single Auction This Month (Car and Driver)
- The Evolution of the Driver’s Seat (Car and Driver)
- GM’s New Steering Wheel Design Can Change Shape, Texture, and Size (The Truth About Cars)
- The New Artificial Intelligence Of Car Audio Might Improve More Than Just Tunes (Forbes)
- Five Inspiring and Educational Project Car Youtube Channels To Check Out (The Drive)
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Opinion
Community Speed Watch: Is it Snitching or Driver Education?
Another set of eyes—does this mean neighbor snitching on neighbors and the general public? Lt. Allen leads the initiative and says his officers will train neighborhood association volunteers to observe and report potential traffic violations. But the details are murky on how the volunteers will watch motorists. . .
(click on title for full op-ed)