TheNewspaper.com Roundup: May 16, 2012

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 16, 2012
Oklahoma Speed Trap Town Cheats Motorists, Refuses Refunds
Bernice, Oklahoma trustees voted Monday not to refund illegally collected speeding ticket fines. The notorious Northeast speed trap town of just 500 residents was busted last month by the Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector for charging up to $545 for a single traffic ticket when it could only legally collect $50.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Tennessee: Federal Lawsuit Takes on Automated Justice
A group of motorists have launched a challenge to the Bluff City, Tennessee speed camera program. The class action suit was transferred to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee earlier this month. It alleges that not only is the ticketing automated but the adjudication process is as well. Read the rest of this article »

Stuff That’s Gone Away

By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist

I guess everyone gets to that point in life where they start to say, “I remember when… . ” Here’s some from me:

Economy cars were rear-wheel-drive

Today, only a handful of cars — most of them high-end cars — are rear wheel drive. But back in the day — the ’60s, ’70s and into the ’80s — most cars were rear-wheel-drive and that included most economy cars. Pintos, Vegas, Chevettes — even imports like the Datsun B210 and of course, the old Beetle — were burnout-capable (assuming there was a little black ice on the pavement). Vegas — and even Chevettes — were popular as sleeper hot rod projects and bracket racers, because of their RWD layout. Stuff a big V-8 into a Vega (or a V-6 into a Chevette) and you had an M80 on wheels — and for cheap, too. That’s the other thing about RWD econo-cars: Their mechanicals were the essence of simplicity, which made them genuinely economical in a way that modern economy cars aren’t. No CV joints to fuss with. You had a solid beam axle that would outlast the car instead. A pair of shocks — $40 for the pair — instead of $200 for a set of struts. True, you usually only got a gas gauge and a speedometer and a dial-control one speaker AM/FM radio — but you also didn’t get a $300 a month payment for the next five years. I miss that. And being able to spin the rear tires, too. Read the rest of this article »

Driving News Roundup: May 11, 2012

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.

New Jersey: ACLU wins court order to block new driver’s license rules
The ACLU has won a court order blocking New Jersey’s stricter new driver’s license requirements, putting into limbo plans requiring 6 million drivers to show additional proof of ID before securing a license.

U.S. traffic deaths fall to lowest level in 62 years
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 32,310 people died last year in traffic accidents, the lowest number since 1949.

U.S. Senate transportation bill mandates black box, more rules
US House and Senate negotiators are currently working out differences in the opposing transportation reauthorization bills passed by the respective chambers. In an alert sent to members yesterday, the National Motorists Association raised an alarm over a Senate-endorsed provision mandating the installation of black box recording devices in all automobiles beginning with the 2015 model year.

New York: Police unions, management face off in ad over traffic tickets
It’s a battle between New York City police unions and management. A full page ad in the Daily News reads: “Don’t blame the cop, blame NYPD management for pressure to write tickets and the pressure to convict motorists.”

Illinois: Chicago residential speed limit could change
The speed limit on Chicago’s residential streets could be changed to 20 miles per hour under a new city plan. Also, pedestrians would get three more seconds to cross the street. Those are some measures in a proposal being considered by the Department of Transportation.

Arizona: Governor preserves camera revenue stream by backing non standard intersection definitions
Governor Jan Brewer on Wednesday vetoed a measure that would have brought Arizona’s definition of an intersection into compliance with federal law. In her veto message, Brewer said it would be too dangerous to adopt the same legal standard implemented across forty-eight other states.

Gov’t unsure on who can establish distracted driving laws
Turns out the federal government’s attempts to create enforceable oversight of cell-phone use in vehicles has hit a snag: It seems there isn’t a government agency specifically empowered with the authority to do so. The legislative boundaries of the Federal Communications Commission end at the phone itself, those of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration end at the vehicle itself. Neither is equipped to address how people combine the two while driving.

To see more stories like the ones above, check out our NMA Driving News site. Each weekday we update the site with news stories that are interesting and/or informative for drivers like you.

2012 Jeep Wrangler Review

By Eric Peters, Automotive Columnist

It’s amazing they haven’t outlawed the Wrangler.

“They” being the dumbing-everything-down busybodies in DC who operate on the principle that most people are too stupid to deal with any situation on their own and therefore must be protected (for their own good, naturally) against the possible repercussions of any low-IQ move by anyone. Read the rest of this article »

TheNewspaper.com Roundup: May 9, 2012

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 09, 2012
US Traffic Fatalities Continue to Decline
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced last week that road fatalities in the United States are continuing their decline at a record-shattering pace. According to preliminary figures, the number killed on the nation’s highways in 2011 per 100 million miles driven has dropped to an all-time low of 1.09, which is a full 25 percent drop from just six years ago. The total number of people who died on US roads last year dropped by the same percentage to 32,310.

Tuesday, May 08, 2012
US Senate Transportation Bill Mandates Black Box, More Rules
US House and Senate negotiators are currently working out differences in the opposing transportation reauthorization bills passed by the respective chambers. In an alert sent to members yesterday, the National Motorists Association (NMA) raised an alarm over a Senate-endorsed provision mandating the installation of black box recording devices in all automobiles beginning with the 2015 model year. Read the rest of this article »