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:
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
What If All Cars Were Autonomous, Electric, and Free?
Can we really solve the problems of car dominance just by making cars less destructive?
April 14, 2026
Tuesday’s Headlines Try, Try Again
Maybe another climate conference can succeed on phasing out fossil fuels where COP30 failed.
April 14, 2026
Push Grows To Move Parking Enforcement From NYPD To DOT
Two community boards want the job to go to the agency already in charge of the streets.
April 13, 2026
Can This Tool Predict Where Your City’s Next Car Crash Will Happen?
But will U.S. transportation leaders use it to take preemptive action to make roadways safer?
April 13, 2026
Monday’s Headlines Show the True Cost of Climate Change
Making cars slightly cheaper in the short run in exchange for accelerating climate change is not a good tradeoff.
April 13, 2026
