New Technology Will Use AI Speed Cameras That Can ‘Spy Inside’ Your Car
By Lauren Fix Technology is great! Except when it’s used to control and monitor everything we do. And now new AI speed cameras are being installed on roads that will be able to spy inside our cars. These new cameras are set to be rolled out across the U.S. to catch motorists using mobile phones […]
The Costs of the Mafia
By Eric Peters, NMA Member and Syndicated Columnist Why is it a bad idea to force people to buy car insurance — leaving aside the forcing them to buy it? Well, because it enables the insurance mafia — how else to describe a business that uses threats of retaliation if you don’t agree to pay […]
Low-Level Traffic Fines: A Slippery Slope to Civil Court: NMA E-Newsletter #730
On January 1st, Nevada became the latest state to remove the threat of a criminal charge for motorists who can’t pay fines for minor traffic violations. The new law has downgraded these minor infractions from criminal misdemeanors to civil violations with civil penalties. This change only applies to low-level traffic tickets, not to tickets like reckless […]
Busting 7 Myths about Cars You Should Not Believe
By Lauren Fix, The Car Coach There are so many automotive myths or common beliefs or something your buddy told you as a fact about your car. Much of it is total rubbish, but what is really the truth? I’m sure a few come to your mind right away. Let’s correct the record and then […]
Taking the Politics Out of Speed Limit Setting—a Member Responds: NMA Newsletter #729
By Don Bain, NMA Oregon Member Editor’s Note: Don submitted these comments to the NMA National Office in response to Newsletter #724 Taking the Politics Out of Speed Limit Setting. While sound from an engineering perspective, there’s an inherent challenge with speed surveys and the 85% percentile speed point: establishing and documenting what “free-flowing conditions” are, […]
Two Lanes of Driving Behavior–Are you a Safe Driver? Are you a Compliant Driver?
By Stewart Price, NMA Programs Officer Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared as NMA E-Newsletter #711 from August 2022. If you would like to subscribe to our single-topic motorist-issue weekly newsletter, click here. Until I started working here at the NMA, I thought these two questions are the same. As the French would say, “C’est […]
Recent Chicago Parking Audit Spells Bad News for Motorists (and Every Other Resident)
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director This post originally appeared as NMA E-Newsletter #708 from August 2022. If you would like to subscribe to the newsletter, a weekly one-topic look at a motorist issue, click here. As of 2022, 61 years are left on the 75-year parking meter lease now held by the Chicago Parking Meters […]
Recent Chicago Parking Audit Spells Bad News for Motorists (and Every Other Resident): NMA E-Newsletter #708
As of 2022, 61 years are left on the 75-year parking meter lease now held by the Chicago Parking Meters LLC. A recent city audit stated that the private company had already recouped its entire $1.16 billion investment plus $502.5 million more. According to a recent Chicago Sun-Times article, Chicago parking meter revenue is back […]
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. […]
The USDOT, Speed Cameras, and Automated Corruption
By Gary Biller, NMA President Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on February 13, 2022, as a NMA Weekly E-Newsletter #683. It didn’t take long after Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Transportation Secretary, introduced his department’s 42-page National Roadway Safety Strategy for people to grasp the importance of a tiny sentence buried in Note 3 on Page 28 of […]