More people in America are now killed by drugs than motor vehicle accidents, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. Traffic fatalities have declined sharply over three decades through the use of seat belts, airbags, and other safety improvements, while drug-induced deaths - including those from prescription drugs - have risen sharply in recent years, the newspaper reported. Read the rest of this entry »

A bill sent to the governor aims to reduce greenhouse gases and auto congestion by giving regional governments the authority to require employers to offer subsidies to workers who commute by bus, rail, bicycle, carpool and other low-emission means. Bay Area public transit and regional governments backed the bill, but it was opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce. Read the rest of this entry »

Fears of a traffic nightmare dubbed Carmeggedon evaporated over the weekend as Southern Californians proved they can severe their ties to the auto for at least a couple of days when a portion of Intersate 405 was closed for a construction project. It wasn’t too much of a surprise as Bay Area residents have proved in recent years that they can do without a major artery – the Bay Bridge – when it was temporarily closed for construction work. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re from the government and we’re here to help you drive smarter and cleaner to reduce greenhouse gases. Can it work ? Can the Bay Area pioneer new gains in the climate change arena with a $4.5 million public education campaign to get motorists to slow down and change their driving behavior?   Read the rest of this entry »

I’m looking for readers to call or email me this afternoon if they are planning to cut back their Fourth of July weekend travel plans this year because of high gas prices. A new AAA survey found that 2.9 percent fewer Californians are planning to drive 50 miles or more this Fourth of July long weekend, and high gas prices are part of the reason. Read the rest of this entry »

You get into a car crash outside your home city. You’re upset. You know this will be expensive. Then it gets worse. You find out  you could be forced to pay several hundred dollars of a local tax imposed on drivers from out of town to finance the local fire department’s responses to auto collisions. Some cities are levying these so-called crash taxes, but the Sacramento City Council voted yesterday to repeal its new fee before anyone paid it. Read the rest of this entry »

We all got up an hour earlier today because Daylight Savings Time saves energy. Right? Not everyone agrees. A Tuft’s University teacher says we don’t really save energy in part we make extra driving trips to stores, golf courses and other recreational outings  during that extra hour of sunlight. Read the rest of this entry »

A California Highway Patrol officer recently pulled over a suspected drunk driver with an unusal passenger: a goat riding shotgun. The driver and another man in the car are in trouble because neither claimed to own the goat. Read the rest of this entry »

The federal government proposes a rule to reduce the accidental deaths of two children a week on average from car backovers. The rule would require  back-up cameras on new cars and trucks, effective in 2014.

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Some 5,474 people died last year in this country in traffic crashes linked to distracted driving practices like texting or making cell phone calls, Obama administration transportation leaders said today at a summit on trying to reduce the carnage. That’s a heavy toll for people not paying attention. Read the rest of this entry »