Thursday’s Headlines Get Pulled Over
The New York Times posits that the pandemic, gangs racing on empty streets and police stretched thin post-Ferguson all contributed to rising traffic deaths since 2019.
By
Blake Aued
12:01 AM EDT on August 1, 2024
- Under pressure from the left for racial bias and the right for focusing too little on other subsets of violent crime, police in cities nationwide have been issuing far fewer traffic tickets since 2019. And the lack of enforcement coincides with a spike in traffic deaths. (New York Times)
- Fearing a third mistrial, a federal judge threw out a lawsuit accusing Uber of misclassifying drivers as contractors instead of employees. (Reuters)
- The end of the 9-to-5 workday might wind up being a good thing for commuter rail. (Mass Transit)
- Micromobility’s growing popularity is resulting in more injuries, which Route Fifty attributes to e-bike riders not wearing helmets instead of a lack of safe infrastructure separated from drivers.
- Lime is testing new e-bikes that riders don’t have to pedal (The Verge). But doesn’t that just make them electric motorcycles?
- Charlotte’s Vision Zero efforts are failing because of a lack of investment by the city, traffic enforcement that doesn’t focus on the most dangerous areas, poor record-keeping, city vehicles blocking bike lanes and intersections, and opposition from the state, which owns many of the most dangerous roads, according to a recent audit. (WFAE)
- The Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority is planning to add bus service along the congested northern stretch of the I-285 Perimeter. (11 Alive)
- Stolen copper wire is causing delays on Denver light rail. (Gazette)
- The St. Paul city council approved two new road diets replacing car lanes and parking with bike lanes. (KSTP)
- A Pittsburgh city council bill would authorize the use of red-light cameras. (CBS News)
- The Autobahn is famous for its lack of speed limits, but even in Germany attitudes towards driving too fast are changing. (Slate)
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:
More from Streetsblog USA
Trump Wants to Slash Federal Funding for Public Transit, Rail (Again)
The president’s proposed budget threatens transit projects across the country.
April 9, 2026
Thursday’s Headlines Are the Taxman
Suspending gas taxes might be politically popular, but it doesn't save drivers money and takes away funding for infrastructure.
April 9, 2026
Michigan Bill Would Require Seniors to Regularly Re-Take Their Drivers’ Tests
...but would it really make roads safer?
April 8, 2026
Wednesday’s Headlines Have Good News and Bad News
Traffic deaths are back down to their pre-pandemic levels, but there is still much work left to be done.
April 8, 2026
How To Push A Livable Streets Project Forward — Even in the Era of Federal Clawbacks
A livable streets superstar is launching a new organization to push forward some of America's most iconic sustainable streets projects — even if Congress is clawing back their funding
April 7, 2026
Comments Are Temporarily Disabled
Streetsblog is in the process of migrating our commenting system. During this transition, commenting is temporarily unavailable.
Once the migration is complete, you will be able to log back in and will have full access to your comment history. We appreciate your patience and look forward to having you back in the conversation soon.