News and events >> traffic safety headlines
Here are newspaper and magazine stories, news releases and other items relevant to traffic safety in California and the nation. This list was last revised on May 7, 2008 and covers the period from April 11. This edition's headline pick. See previous TSC headlines.
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MAY 7
New York bicycle commuters face an uphill climb: With rising gas prices and concern over auto emissions, more workers are taking to two wheels. But they must navigate an obstacle course of anarchic traffic conditions.
"Drivers Use Social Site To Avoid Speed Traps: Officials Are Happy Drivers Are Slowing Down...Pete Tenereillo, a programmer in Carlsbad who developed Trapster, described it as 'a social network for sharing information about police speed traps.
'Think of it as Facebook meets radar detectors, and throw in a little bit of eBay ratings,' he said."—KIRO tv
PLEASANTON POLICE IMPOUND 15 VEHICLES DURING SOBRIETY CHECKPOINT
A deadly mix on our roads: Safe-driving workshop a must
MAY 6
Antioch police plan seatbelt crackdown: From May 12 to June 1, officers will be on the lookout for drivers and passengers not using seat belts, along with children not properly restrained in car seats, Antioch police Sgt. Robert Quintero said. Antioch, along with more than 280 law enforcement agencies, will participate in California's 2008 "Click it or Ticket" mobilization program.
Even More On Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month: Spring marks the traditional start of the riding season and the Motorcycle Safety Foundation is encouraging motorcyclists to take an active role during Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month to help reduce the growing number of traffic collisions involving motorcycles.
Run a Red Light, It Goes on the Tab: Here is the relevant language in the Avis contract, outlining a provision that is similar to those imposed by other car rental companies: “You may bill all charges, parking/traffic tickets included, to the card I use for payment, without any additional signature by me on a voucher.”
MAY 5
Safety concerns on the nation's radar: As controllers keep their eyes on the skies, mistakes and cover-ups are surfacing.
MAY 4
Weekend motorcyclists now weekday commuters: "Compared to a car, there are a lot of advantages (to a motorcycle)," said Scott Thompson of Concord, who brought a restored 1967 Triumph TR6 to exhibit at the event, held on the sprawling greensward near the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Half Moon Bay.
MAY 3
$7.1 million grant for city transit security: The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency plans to use the money for new closed-circuit television cameras, fencing, subway lighting and other security measures.
APRIL 30
Judge OKs part of S.F. bike safety plan: A San Francisco Superior Court judge on Tuesday rejected San Francisco's request for broad discretion in implementing roadway improvements aimed at making travel safer for bicyclists, but did give the OK to make lane and traffic signal modifications at the notoriously dangerous intersection of Fell Street and Masonic Avenue.
Methane to power vehicles, not pollute air: Methane percolating out of the Altamont Landfill near Livermore could soon fuel the garbage trucks that dump trash at the site.
APRIL 29
City seeks waiver for dicey crossings: The City will argue before a Superior Court judge today that two dangerous intersections should be exempted from an injunction that has stalled implementation of San Francisco’s bike plan.
Wallet protects bicyclist in drive-by shooting: A bullet fired at a man riding in South L.A. is deflected, but a second cyclist is fatally shot.
Two men shot, one fatally, at Compton Metro station: An unidentified male opened fire on the station about 6 p.m., killing a man in his 50s, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Rich Pena.
APRIL 28
Phone counseling after ER visit cuts drunk driving: The findings, published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, suggest that it is possible to change the behavior of problem drinkers who pass through busy ERs.
APRIL 27
Fear, but Few Facts, on Hybrid Risk: The flow of electrical current to the motor that moves a hybrid vehicle at low speeds (and assists the gasoline engine on the highway) produces magnetic fields, which some studies have associated with serious health matters, including a possible risk of leukemia among children.