Thursday’s Headlines Will Never Mislead You
The U.S. DOT's statistics downplay the role of dangerous street designs in traffic deaths, says a top federal safety official.
By
Blake Aued
12:00 AM EST on January 20, 2022
- The chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, accused the Biden administration of continuing to share a pervasive and misleading statistic that attributes almost all crashes to driver error, rather than bad road design and policy. (Associated Press)
- Amtrak is temporarily cutting service due to employees coming down with Omicron. (New York Times)
- Police have an incentive to hand out speeding tickets because most states use the revenue to fund criminal justice, creating a hardship for drivers who can’t afford to pay. (Route Fifty)
- Equity conversations around transportation often leave out people who can’t drive or can’t afford a car. (City Observatory)
- Two self-driving shuttle companies went bankrupt last week, but the technology still holds long-term promise even if it’s not profitable yet. (Forbes)
- The Philadelphia Inquirer calls on Pennsylvania lawmakers to upgrade public transit.
- The growing popularity of drive-throughs during the pandemic is crimping Charlotte’s plans to become more walkable. (Axios)
- Pinellas County, Florida officials want to cut pedestrian and cyclist deaths, which nearly doubled from 2020 to 2021. (St. Pete Catalyst)
- Drivers have already killed two Hartford pedestrians this year, which matches the total for all of 2017. (Courant)
- Cincinnati is updating its bike plan for the first time in 12 years. (WVXU)
- Uncleared sidewalks are forcing Cleveland pedestrians to walk in the street. (News 5)
- The Georgia DOT was going to install bike lanes on a busy Athens street, then removed them from its plans. (Flagpole)
- D.C. Metro General Manager and CEO Paul Wiedefeld is retiring. (DCist)
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan is floating a plan to charge motorists across the entire city based on time of journey, distance traveled and destination. He said the city needs to cut car trips by a quarter to meet 2030 emissions targets. (The Guardian)
- Prague is offering free shared bike rides to residents who have a transit pass. (Expat)
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.
Read More:
Streetsblog has migrated to a new comment system. New commenters can register directly in the comments section of any article. Returning commenters: your previous comments and display name have been preserved, but you'll need to reclaim your account by clicking "Forgot your password?" on the sign-in form, entering your email, and following the verification link to set a new password — this is required because passwords could not be carried over during the migration. For questions, contact tips@streetsblog.org.
More from Streetsblog USA
‘A Solution, But To What Problem?’ Experts Say AVs Are The Elephant In The Room, But There’s Still Time To Figure Out Their Role
Want to know more about autonomous vehicles? Read this vital excerpt from last week's "The Future of Transportation" seminar.
April 20, 2026
When Traffic Violence Hits The Same Family Twice — Years Apart, On Exactly the Same Street
The deaths of a Colorado married couple has some mourning an eerie coincidence — and others outraged at two predictable tragedies that could have been prevented.
April 20, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Should Wean Themselves Off Fossil Fuels
Even people who don't drive wind up paying when oil prices spike.
April 20, 2026
Waymo Means Way Mo’ Cars, According To Uber Docs
Caution ahead: Uber admits that self-driving taxis grow their taxi business, too.
April 17, 2026
Friday Video(s): Kidical Mass, Night-Biking in Tokyo, and More
There were great urbanism-adjacent YouTube videos for every taste this week; here are six of our favorites.
April 17, 2026
