NMA Legislative Roundup – January-June, 2022: NMA E-Newsletter #705

The January through June legislative activity at the state and national levels is complete. It is worth reviewing a report card of bills resolved during the period, motorist-related legislation that we followed. Overall, 38 bills that the NMA supported or opposed met the fate we desired as opposed to 21 that went against our wishes. […]
Speed Trap Karma Part 2: NMA E-Newsletter #698

Reason.com recently published a list of eleven U.S. towns where their police forces were either disbanded or their autonomy as a governmental entity was dissolved because of an addiction to, and dependence on, ticket revenue. We thought it would be informative to present excerpts from Reason’s article for those cities along with select driver-sourced comments […]
Speed Trap Karma Part 1: NMA E-Newsletter #697

Reason.com recently published a list of eleven U.S. towns where their police forces were either disbanded or their autonomy as a governmental entity was dissolved because of an addiction to, and dependence on, ticket revenue. We thought it would be informative to present excerpts from Reason’s article for those cities along with select driver-sourced comments […]
Traffic Safety is the Responsibility of All – Not Just Motorists

By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared in December 2021 as NMA E-Newsletter #674. Subscribe today if you would like to receive NMA’s one-topic E-Newsletter every Sunday! In October, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed AB122, a bill that would have enabled bicyclists to utilize the Idaho Stop (using stop signs as […]
Crime Isn’t the Only Thing That Doesn’t Pay

By NMA President Gary Biller Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared in October 2021 as NMA E-Newsletter #668. If you would like to subscribe to the weekly one-topic newsletter that comes to your inbox on Sunday mornings, please click Here. Care to hazard a guess on how much money the city of Los Angeles […]
Traffic Safety is the Responsibility of All – Not Just Motorists: NMA E-Newsletter #674

In October, California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed AB122, a bill that would have enabled bicyclists to utilize the Idaho Stop (using stop signs as yield signs if no cars or pedestrians are present). Newsom cited safety as the primary reason for the veto: “While I share the author’s intent to increase bicyclist safety, I am […]
Crime Isn’t the Only Thing That Doesn’t Pay: NMA E-Newsletter #668

Care to hazard a guess on how much money the city of Los Angeles has raked in from traffic and parking enforcement during their last five fiscal years, which end each June 30th? If your estimate is more than half a billion dollars, you are getting warm. During those five years, Los Angeles collected more […]
Are Speed Limit Signs (or lack thereof) Disrespectful to Drivers?

By Merrill Gehman, an Alaska NMA Member If those who establish, post, and enforce work zone, detour, and other temporary site speed limit signs wonder why so many drivers don’t obey these signs, I can show them a good example. There are a significant number of these sites where drivers are just not respected. Usually, […]
Ticket Quotas are Alive and All Too Well

Editor’s Note: After news this week that Washington State lawmakers are pushing Senate Bill 6316 to stop the police practice of traffic ticket orders, we thought this would be a great companion blog. One of the national issues of the NMA is to advocate against traffic ticket quotas which if implemented by a police department, […]
Ticket Quotas are Alive and All Too Well: NMA Weekly E-Newsletter #572

By our latest count, twenty states have explicit laws banning traffic ticket quotas. And yet, the practice continues, even within some of those states. City, county, and state budgets must be met, and a reliable target for revenue continues to be the motorist. A brief rundown of the states with quota prohibitions follows but first, […]