Monday’s Headlines Put Safety First
...unlike car companies, which could be using technologies like LIDAR and external airbags to protect pedestrians, but don't.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on October 16, 2023
- Automakers could easily make cars less dangerous for pedestrians, but they often choose not to add safety features, and the government isn’t making them. (BBC)
- The total cost of owning a new car is now more than $12,000 a year, up over $1,000 from last year, and now makes up 16 percent of the average household’s income. (New York Times)
- Starting next year, the electric vehicle tax credit will be applied directly at the dealership, instead of as a refund on taxes. (Marketplace)
- Satellites could be used to implement pay-per-mile tolling. (Traffic Technology Today)
- Research shows that walking to work elicits a feeling similar to falling in love. (Inside Hook)
- A climate group crashed a Pete Buttigieg interview in Baltimore, deriding the transportation secretary as “Petro Pete.” (The Hill)
- A new federally funded research center at the University of Maryland will study green transportation networks. (Washington Post)
- The Philadelphia Inquirer has a how-to guide on using the regional transit system SEPTA.
- SEPTA cameras caught 36,000 bus drivers parked in bus lanes during a two-month test. (NBC Philadelphia)
- The Chicago Transit Authority received a $100 million federal grant for the Red Line extension. (Progressive Railroading)
- Milwaukee officials hope building more protected bike lanes will lower the city’s high rates of deaths and injuries from car crashes among cyclists. (Urban Milwaukee)
- Milwaukee’s Lakefront Line streetcar extension is opening soon. (Fox 6)
- Boston is offering discounted annual memberships for the Bluebike bikeshare. (Hoodline)
- This writer did a lot of eating but not much writing on a cross-country Amtrak trip. (Longreads)
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
Study: Trump’s Transit Proposal Would Cost the Country So Many Jobs — And Not Just in Cities
... but an increase in funding would be a job-creating juggernaut.
May 13, 2026
Wednesday’s Headlines Are Bought and Paid For
The Union of Concerned Scientists explains how the highway lobby keeps so many of us in our cars.
May 13, 2026
Opinion: It’s Time to Rethink Our Congestion Obsession
Policymakers constantly suggest that we need to spend billions of dollars and bulldoze countless acres of land to fix traffic jams. But do we?
May 13, 2026
Speed Ills! Reckless Driving on the Rise in Car Ads, Study Shows
Car commercials featuring unsafe driving are rising — as are crash fatalities linked to speeding. Hmm.
May 12, 2026
Not For Granite: New Hampshire Man Isn’t Laughing At Anti-Cyclist Comments From State Elected Official
A voter sent this letter to state Rep. Thomas Walsh, but he speaks for all of us.
May 12, 2026