National and Local Transportation News

Local Transportation News

• Vestavia Hill Bans Texting While Driving

  Birmingham News Editorial on Texting and Driving

  Alabama Texting Bill Dies in Senate

  Toyota Recall Information

  US DOT bans commercial truck and bus drivers from texting while driving

  Alabama House Panel Votes to Ban Texting While Driving

  UAB Magazine highlights the Alabama Distracted Driving Summit

  The Birmingham News Previews the 2009 Alabama Distracted Driving Summit

  GPS leading Truckers astray

  Study finds texting while driving is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! (Go figure)

  NHTSA releases distracted driving data

• Alabama text messaging ban stalls in the Senate
• Alabama legislature works to pass Distracted Driving Legislation
• Alabama plans DUI crackdown

• Birmingham is America's 7th Most Dangerous City for Drivers

  • CNBC coverage

  • Insurance.com report

  Pew Research Center Report: Adults more likely than teens to text and drive

  Our View: Birmingham News Editorial on Texting and Driving

• Alabama plans drunken driving crackdown -Governor Riley awards $634,001 to the University of Alabama CARE Research Laboratory to implement electronic crash reporting system
• Jefferson County Congestion Plan in the Works- Transportation analysts at the Metropolitan Planning Organization are working on a congestion management plan for the area. They intend to use the plan as a guideline to fund highway projects. Click here to read more...

• Alabama Department of Public Safety reports that traffic fatalities decline in 2007-Alabama roadway deaths in 2007 fell 9 percent from 2006, and so far this year the number of highway fatalities has dropped 23 percent compared with last year. State troopers say it's because drivers' habits are changing....Click here to continue reading -- Source-Birmingham News

• Road deaths for 2006 tops 1,200, might climb
  Most since 1973, DPS says.
• Friday, April 13, 2007
  GINNY MacDONALD -- Birmingham News staff writer Alabama highway deaths topped 1,200 last year for the first time since 1973, unofficial state records show.The Alabama Department of Public Safety's preliminary reports show at least 1,208 people died in crashes in 2006, and they expect the official total to be about 1,240. Click here to read more...

National Transportation News

• New emissions standards could impact vehicle safety
• Medical College of Wisconsin announces opening of new automotive safety research center
• Op-Ed from the WSJ on fuel savings and safety
• Smaller cars offer better fuel savings but at what cost?
• Read full report from IHHS here
• U.S. DOT seeks to improve
• Alabama traffic deaths decline 18%
• New technology for first responders
• NTSB details loads on fallen bridges
• Washington Post editorial on HOT Lanes
• Artilce on congestion from National Review Online columnist John Derbyshire
• U.S. DOT seek to improve commercial truck safety
• Would removing roads and traffic signs improve traffic flow?
• Dr. Ben Coifmans explains traffic jams
• New technology for first responders
• NTSB details loads on fallen bridges
• Washington Post editorial on HOT Lanes
• Artilce on congestion from National Review Online columnist John Derbyshire
• Article on gridlock from US News and World Report
• MSNBC safe driver story

Selected Transportation Reading

The Road More Traveled: Why the Congestion Crisis Matters More Than You Think
And What We Can Do About It - By Ted Balaker and Sam Staley

The Road More Traveled is an indepth look at the problem of congestion in the United States. The book provides background, examples, and alternatives to combat congestion in the 21st century.

"Balaker and Staley clearly debunk the myth that there is nothing we can do about congestion."
- Mary E. Peters, U.S. Secretary of Transportation

Traffic: Why We Drive The Way We Do and What It Says About US- By Tom Vanderbilt

In Traffic Tom Vanderbilt investigates and compares driving etiquette in United States and selected European nations.