Cars
Basics
Distracted Driving Debate Continues in Congress as Consensus Looks Elusive
After three public hearings in one week on the increasingly hot-button issue of distracted driving, Congress appears no closer to answering the question of whether a punitive strategy for encouraging state-level action -- such as threatening to withhold highway funds -- can win sufficient support from conservatives.
November 6, 2009
To Limit Distracted Driving, Congress Leans Toward a Carrot-Stick Combo
Partisanship is a fact of life in Washington, often slowing down progress on issues from health care to climate change. But when it comes to preventing the use of electronic devices behind the wheel, a congressional consensus is emerging in favor of federal action -- even as the extent of GOP support for a punitive approach remains decidedly unclear.
November 2, 2009
Advice for Policymakers: Time to Check Your Blind Spots
Last week, I left my Washington home, walked to the nearby Metro station, rode a train downtown, walked to the National Press Club, and settled in to hear Steven Rattner, former head of the Obama administration's auto task force, declare that "no one has yet invented a substitute for the automobile."
October 27, 2009
Electric Cars Got a Bigger U.S. Bet in 6 Months Than Transit Gets All Year
Vice President Joe Biden will return to his home state of Delaware today to announce that California car company Fisker Automotive will reopen a shuttered General Motors plant to build a moderately priced plug-in hybrid that goes by the code name Project NINA.
October 27, 2009
How Bus Transit Can Help the Auto Industry
When Vice President Joe Biden visited Minnesota's New Flyer bus company to tout the economic stimulus law's $8.4 billion investment in transit, hopes were high for a boom in cleaner-burning vehicle production -- which made for some bad press when the nationwide transit funding crunch forced New Flyer to lay off 13 percent of its workers.
October 26, 2009
Takeaway From Today’s EPA Hearing: Fuel Efficiency is a Money-Maker
A major step towards more fuel-efficient U.S. vehicles is being taken today in Detroit, where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. DOT are holding their first in a series of public hearings on the new emissions standards the Obama administration released in May.
October 21, 2009
Think Tank Responds to Report on Hidden Costs of Fossil Fuels: Yawn
The National Academy of Science's new report on the hidden health costs of U.S. reliance on fossil fuels has generated high-profile media coverage around the country, most of it focusing on the $62 billion annual estimate for coal rather than the $56 billion projection for vehicles.
October 20, 2009
New Study Shows $56 Billion in Hidden Health Damage from Autos
Transportation's effects on public health are rarely discussed by policy-makers, but they remain very real -- and the National Research Council (NRC) put a number on them today, reporting that cars and trucks have about $56 billion in "hidden" health costs that are not reflected in the price of oil or electricity.
October 19, 2009
Transportation Allowances in the Climate Bill: A Tale of Two Modes
To understand why the climate change bill is a top priority for urbanists, it's crucial to understand the emissions allowances that the legislation distributes. The allowances essentially put the "trade" in "cap-and-trade" -- whichever industry or state government holds them can benefit from their monetary value or use them to emit pollution under the "cap."
October 16, 2009
Senior Dem Senator to Offer Competing Plan to Limit Distracted Driving
Few if any policy-makers are prepared to defend the dangerous practice of using cell phones and texting behind the wheel. But even as reining in distracted driving gets a higher profile, there is some difference of opinion over whether to use carrots or sticks.
October 15, 2009