Friday’s Headlines Are Afraid for Their Lives
What few drivers were on the road during 2020's lockdowns were more reckless than ever, killing more people than any year since 2007.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on June 4, 2021
- Drivers killed 38,680 people in the U.S. last year — the most since 2007, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. While people drove less, especially during lockdowns in the first half the year, they were also more likely to drive fast, drive drunk and not wear seatbelts. (Reuters)
- Thousands of people are lobbying the feds to rewrite an arcane traffic manual so it encourages safer, more equitable streets. (Wired)
- Electric vehicles aren’t as clean as they’re touted to be, and tax subsidies to buy them mainly go to the upper class. (The Hill)
- President Biden’s regular budget for 2022 — not the CARES Act or infrastructure bill — has $13.5 billion for transit and $2.7 billion for Amtrak (Trains). The Natural Resources Defense Council calls it a sea change in the fight for equity and against climate change.
- Specific projects Biden wants to fund include Madison bus rapid transit (Wisconsin State Journal), BRT in Rochester, Minnesota (KAAL), light rail and BRT in the Seattle area (Kent Reporter), two BRT routes in Austin (KVUE) and Phoenix light rail expansions (KTAR).
- The Colorado legislature passed and Gov. Jared Polis intends to sign a $5 billion transportation bill. (Colorado Public Radio)
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis used his line-item veto to slash funding for Tampa transit and Complete Streets. (Tampa Bay Times)
- Milwaukee is the first city in the world to test tracking technology that keeps e-scooters off sidewalks. (WISN)
- Last month’s municipal elections in London showed broad support among voters for programs that promote walking and biking. (The Guardian)
- The European Union created the first continent-wide bike master plan. (Eltis)
- Stop trying to make Copenhagen happen! It’s not gonna happen. (Arch Daily)
Blake Aued has been doing Streetsblog's daily national news digest for years. He's also an Atlanta Braves fan, which enrages his editor in New York.
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