Driving News Roundup: May 17, 2013

This is a weekly feature on the NMA Blog, running each Friday, where we highlight seven of the most interesting driving news stories of the week.

California: ACLU sues LAPD and Sheriff’s Department over license plate scanners
Both the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles Police Department have become big fans of cameras that capture license plate numbers and check them against information in registration and criminal databases. Authorities tout how the information helps find stolen cars and help solve investigations, but the American Civil Liberties Union has an issue with the police holding onto the plate images of innocent people.

North Carolina: Court costs – where your fine from speeding tickets really goes
Many drivers know it’s the court costs that will really ding you, typically tacking on almost 200 dollars to your initial speeding fine. You may be surprised to learn hardly any of the “court costs” actually make it back to the courts. The vast majority of the court cost money actually goes straight to the state’s general fund. Read the rest of this article »

2014 Mazda6 Review

By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist

Cue ’80s-era Queen… another one bites the dust.

Another V-6, that is.

The 2014 Mazda6 — all-new — is now also four-cylinder-only. Read the rest of this article »

TheNewspaper.com Roundup: May 15, 2013

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, May 15, 2013
Chicago, Illinois Inspector General Rejects Red-Light Camera Justification
There is no evidence that the world’s largest red-light camera program is operated as a safety program, according to a report released Tuesday by the inspector general for the city of Chicago, Illinois. The independent investigation comes as Redflex Traffic Systems continues to operate every aspect of the automated ticketing program despite Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s promise to cut ties with the Australian firm.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Maine: Legislation Would Reverse Toll Road Secrecy
The Maine state legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee on Monday reported a bill that would lift the veil of secrecy from a major toll road project and force private developers to pay for their own feasibility studies. On April 5, 2012 Governor Paul LePage (R) signed a bill ordering the state transportation department to conduct an economic feasibility study of a $2 billion, 220-mile toll road cutting across the state from east to west, connecting the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec. The new bill repeals that provision. Read the rest of this article »

Judging Driver Behavior by Intuition or by Facts?

By Gary Biller, NMA President

Investigative reporter Noah Pransky of Tampa Bay TV station WTSP filed an explosive report earlier this week about the intentional shortening of yellow-light intervals at red-light camera intersections for the purpose of raising ticket revenue. Pransky noted that of the more than $120 million of photo ticket revenue collected across Florida in 2012, $50 million was directly attributable to red-light camera program operators setting yellow lights too short.

That is a startling number, particularly for those who aren’t familiar with the multitude of documented accounts of short yellow lights that the NMA has gathered over the years. More alarming still is that the combination of red-light cameras and improper yellow-light timing creates the dubious double penalty of inflating ticket revenue while simultaneously making intersections less safe. Read the rest of this article »

Retro-Review: Ford Maverick Grabber, 1970-’75

By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist

There is an interesting species of near muscle car that came into being and briefly existed for a handful of years, beginning in the early 1970s — just as the high tide of the real muscle car was receding. These were cars that did not come with high-powered V-8s from the factory. But which did come with V-8s that could very easily be made high-powered. The rest was already covered. They had the necessary foundations: rear-wheel-drive layout, sporty two-door styling. And they often had advantages many of the factory muscle cars of the ’60s did not, including low curb weight — and a low price tag.

They were “do-it-yourself muscle cars” — just add horsepower. Read the rest of this article »