War on Cars at a Fever Pitch in NYC: NMA E-Newsletter #557
In our experience, we have never seen the likes of what is going on in New York City with the war on cars. Not only has the city become one giant speed trap with over 2000 “school zone” speed cameras, soon the city/state plans to implement congestion pricing below 60th street. The government expects motorists […]
Should The US Driving Age Be 18 As It Is In Other Countries Such As Germany?
While we debate the various new developments on our road, such as autonomous cars, an age-old question is: Should we raise the legal driving age to 18? In Germany, teenagers are only allowed to drive at 17, under the supervision of an adult, and at 18 without supervision. In the USA, the legal driving age […]
Problem Solved: Ban Cars
This post first appeared as NMA E-Newsletter #516 in December 2018. Randy LoBasso, policy manager at the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, loves to hate the National Motorists Association. We are often the bogeyman he uses as a counterpoint to his pro-bicyclist, Vision Zero, anti-car rhetoric. For instance: “Let’s understand what the National Motorists Association […]
A 4000 Mile Driving Tour of the UK
By NMA New Hampshire Member Jim Burton One of our ‘bucket list’ items has always been to spend a month touring England, Scotland, and Wales. The UK is the land of my ancestors, and my American wife can’t get enough of everything British. Not only is the scenery on this island country stunningly beautiful, but […]
An Appropriate Balance for Whom? – NMA Readers Respond: NMA E-Newsletter #553
In “An Appropriate Balance for Whom?” (NMA E-Newsletter #552), we discussed HB 3663, a recently introduced bill to Congress that would require each state to fund its own program to prioritize walking and bicycle riding over vehicular traffic when designing new or upgrading existing roads. Data from the 2016 U.S. Census showed that more than […]
Are Cyclists Vision Zero Zealots?
Eric Berg is an NMA director and life member since the Citizens Coalition for Rational Traffic Law days. Eric is an avid sport bicyclist as well as staunch defender of motorists’ rights. He is well positioned to provide observations from both vantage points. This thinkpiece first appeared in January 2019 as NMA E-Newsletter #524. One […]
An Appropriate Balance for Whom?: NMA E-Newsletter #552
Eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced House Bill 3663 in mid-July. The proposed piece of legislation is titled, “Complete Streets Act of 2019.” It is no less than a mandate that all states implement policies to address “critical gaps in pedestrian, bicycle, and public transit infrastructure.” The Complete Streets protocol would prioritize […]
Universal Road User Charges Really? Many Questions that need Answers by the Rest of Us
Editor’s Note: One of our Texas members wrote the following guest post as a response to this past week’s first part of the NMA three-part newsletter called: Are We Slinking Ever Closer to a Universal Road User Charge. Parts two and three will be on the website www.motorists.org on July 28 and August 4, respectively. […]
Explanation of the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA and how it will affect Drivers
This article first appeared in the NMA Foundation’s Driving Freedoms Magazine Spring 2019 edition. Beyond the rules update mentioned in the article, All Traffic is Local; additional CEQA rules will be coming online soon that could have an even more significant impact on street design. By July 2020, all California cities will be required to […]
Level of Service: Measuring Traffic Congestion
This article first appeared in the NMA Foundation’s Driving Freedoms Magazine Spring 2019 edition. According to the latest census, 85 percent of all Americans travel to work by single passenger car or by carpool. Since World War II, land use and American culture have been built around driving cars from locations A to B. By […]