Los Angeles Daily News
12/6/2014
Concerns over distracted driving have prompted Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials to propose dramatically curbing use of in-car computers. […] The move follows months of deliberation by an internal committee and comes one year after sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Wood fatally struck cyclist Milton Olin Jr. on Mulholland Highway in Calabasas while typing on his in-car computer. […]
Washington Post
December 1, 2014
[…] police discovered that during the blackout, traffic accidents fell by 20 percent in Dubai and 40 percent nationwide. The chief of police and the head of the traffic division both linked the drop to the outage, which cost BlackBerry owners access to email, text messages and internet functions. […]
December 8, 2014
TRW Auto Safety
[…] The consumer testing organizations are also expected to increase performance requirements for AEB, progressing from warning-only systems to mitigation and prevention at city and highway speeds. Requirements for higher levels of intervention, as well as pedestrian and bicycle detection, are also on the way. […]
December 8, 2014
DOT by
Anthony Foxx
[…] Nearly 4,000 people die in large truck crashes each year and driver fatigue is a leading factor. Tragically, the truck drivers themselves sometimes die driving tired. […]
new research available on the subject demonstrated that long work hours, without sufficient recovery time, lead to reduced sleep and chronic fatigue. That fatigue leads drivers to have slower reaction times and a reduced ability to assess situations quickly. One of the most dangerous elements of fatigue is how quickly it can sneak up on vehicle operators, be they car drivers or truck drivers. The research revealed that truck drivers (like most people) often can’t assess their own fatigue levels accurately and are therefore unaware that their performance has degraded. Too often, fatigued drivers fail to notice that they are drifting between lanes.FMCSA fulfilled its responsibility to develop a rule based on the best science available, protect the driving public, and ensure the continued flow of commerce. In fact, the rule was challenged in court by those who felt it was too restrictive and others who felt it wasn’t restrictive enough. The court found that FMCSA got it right. The rule still allows FMCSA to grant waivers to companies or industries for compelling reasons on a case-by-case basis.
Now, there are efforts in Congress to suspend the update to the restart provision through a rider that could be included in the final Appropriations bill for the year. I have voiced my strong objection to that rider. This rider will have the effect of once again allowing a segment of the trucking industry to operate an average of as many as 82 hours per week. The best science tells us that’s unsafe and will put lives at risk. Our responsibility to the traveling public requires us to warn Congress of these risks and urge reconsideration.
Curbed
Dec 2, 2104
Whoa, it’s a good thing Santa Monica didn’t dilly-dally on launching that bike share program—they saw a formidable 356 percent increase in bike riding between 2000 and 2012, according to a progress report on the city’s Bike Action Plan, which went into action about three years ago. […] True, it covers several more years than the bike plan’s been in action, but still—nationally over the same period, even the average bike-friendly city only saw an 85 percent rise in cycling. Santa Monica crushed them all. […]
This guide is a big help. Handy to keep on your mobile device.
[…] Bicycles OK from Las Pulgas Road (Exit 62) to Oceanside Harbor Dr. (Exit 54C). Bicyclists must exit at the rest stop, cycle through the rest stop, and then reenter the freeway at the other end. Directions and pictures from the Amtrak Century page. […]
This guide also covers PCH and Hwy 101.
Bloomberg News
Dec 3, 2014
[…] General Motors Co. (GM), eager to demonstrate proactivity in the wake of the biggest recall in its history, has disclosed 102 death and injury reports per 100,000 vehicles sold so far this year. By contrast, Honda Motor Co. (7267) has disclosed 2.4 reports per 100,000 vehicles sold this year. Last week, Honda said it failed to disclose 1,729 death and injury reports over 11 years, including eight linked to air bag deaths or injuries. […]
Bloomberg News
Dec 3, 2014
Honda Motor Co. (7267) has signed Autoliv Inc. (ALV) to supply air-bag inflators for recalled vehicles, reducing the automaker’s dependence on Takata Corp. (7312), which made the original, fatally flawed safety systems. […] “Takata made a decision to not go national with its recall and Honda had to step into the void,” Scott Upham, president of Valient Market Research, said yesterday in an interview. […]
Dec 3, 2014
LA Times
[…] Between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. Tuesday there were 172 injury collisions on Los Angeles County’s highways compared to 84 injury crashes in the same period on Nov. 25, said Officer Francisco Villalobos. […]
The DC – ist
[…] In 2013, D.C. saw 12 pedestrian and two cyclist fatalities, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. […]
