Motorists Vote 2022: An Overview of US Motorist-Related Ballot Initiatives from the November 8th Vote: NMA E-Newsletter #723

Here is how Americans voted on ballot initiatives that the NMA outlined in Newsletter #719. The following election results came from Ballotpedia unless listed otherwise. Here are some articles from the national perspective on motorist and transportation issues: Voters Across the Country Support Public Transportation at the Ballot Box (APTA Center for Transportation Excellence) It’s […]

Your money and your life?

KXAN investigative reporters suggest an 85 mph speed limit is dangerous. The evidence: the speed limit on the Texas SH 130 toll road was posted 85, there were accidents, and accidents increased as more drivers used the highway. Pure fearmongering. There’s not enough information in the report to judge how safe SH 130 is and whether the speed […]

Another officer gets away with it

In recent legal news we have another serial criminal police officer, Texas State Trooper Jared Snelgrooes, and another team of prosecutors fighting against your civil rights. The aforementioned officer has a habit of pulling over cars because they are clean. (Thanks to thenewspaper.com for recent coverage and leagle.com for an older case.) He knows he’s […]

The Strictly Enforced State

When I hit the state line the speed limit changed from 65 to 75. The road was the same, but the DOT director was different. Oklahoma DOT ignores the law requiring speed limits to be justified by engineering studies. Texas DOT exercised its discretionary authority to raise most of West Texas from 70 to 75. […]

A little knowledge…

A Texas TV station attempting to educate the public has instead misled the public (warning: autoplay video). People in Vidor, Texas thought there were more crashes on I-10 since the speed limit went up. A KBMT investigator checked accident records. There were 130 crashes in 2010 and 180 in 2016, so the crash rate went […]

We can’t stop here, this is fly country

They’re called face flies. They look like house flies, to which they are closely related. True to their name, they kept landing on my face as I drove out of Texas. Does NHTSA count that as distracted driving? I don’t think there’s a box on reporting forms for flies. The evidence tends to disappear as […]

The cash gauge just hit empty

Texas’ experiment with setting highway speed limits to maximize revenue has failed. I’m not talking about speed traps. Those are coming back. The company that bought the 85 mph speed limit on the Austin bypass just declared bankruptcy. Why can’t you buy an 85 mph speed limit? You don’t have $100 million. Private toll roads […]

Texas DOT lowering speed limits everywhere

Since November 2015, Texas DOT has been conducting a concerted and determined campaign to lower speed limits on roads statewide. These reductions from 75 mph to 65 mph are slated to take effect or are in effect already: A 38-mile stretch of I-20 From east of Midland to west of Odessa A 17-mile stretch of […]

Lies Of Omission And Comission

By John Carr, NMA Massachusetts Activist When complaints grow too loud, reporters ask public safety agencies for reassurance that traffic law enforcement really is all for the best. Accused of running a speed trap, the sheriff explained his speed enforcement cut fatal accidents from three or four per year to zero. Police said right-angle collisions […]