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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Department of Transportation

Department of Transportation stories: 11 news summaries

Only Fines Will Get Drivers
Off the Phone: Experts

Conference tells Transportation Department to get tough

Oct 5, 09 8:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - If the Department of Transportation wants to curb distracted driving, it’ll have to do more than ask nicely, concluded experts at last week’s conference on the issue. Previous efforts to curb drunk driving and promote seat belt safety have proven that drivers don’t respond without the threat... More »

MORE ABOUT:
driving • Department of Transportation • driver distraction • reckless driving • Ray LaHood • cellphones • public safety

(Newser) - Accidents caused by distracted drivers killed at least 5,800 and injured another 515,000 last year, according to data pulled from police reports and presented today to Transportation Department conference on the issue. The actual figures may be significantly higher, say Transportation officials, since distraction is often hard to... More »

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cell phones • car accident • texting • Department of Transportation • driver distraction

(AP) - The number of women charged with driving under the influence has increased nearly 30% during the past decade, Transportation Department officials said today, while the number of men fell 7.5% in the same period. The department says the number of impaired women involved in a fatal crash increased in... More »

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women • drunk driving • arrest • statistics • Department of Transportation • Ray LaHood • Diane Schuler

(Newser) - In 2003 a federal agency compiled hundreds of pages of research on the dangers of using cell phones while driving, but suppressed the findings because of pressure from Congress. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a part of the Transportation Department, also planned a long-term study of the risks of... More »

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cell phones • highway safety • Freedom of Information Act • driving • car safety • consumer advocacy • Department of Transportation • driver distraction

 Va. Repairman 
 Swiped $170K 
 From Meters 

William Fell made off with a sixth of city's total meter revenue

Apr 22, 09 1:02 PM CDT
(Newser) - A repairman stole $170,000 in coins from parking meters in Alexandria, Va., during the past 12 months, the Washington Post reports. William Fell, 61, looted meters in the early hours of the morning before his maintenance shifts, police say. Wary of depositing his ill-gotten gains, Fell kept the coins... More »

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theft • embezzlement • parking meters • Department of Transportation • maintenance • public service • Alexandria

Obama Gets Rail Rolling
With $8B Stimulus

Prez plots $8b high-speed train network

Feb 17, 09 11:31 AM CST
(Newser) - America's railways are about to get a huge handout: At today's signing of the stimulus package, $8 billion will be allocated to high-speed rail. Though the money will be divvied up according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's master plan, the expansion is truly President Obama's pet project, reports Politico. "... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • transit • Rahm Emanuel • Harry M. Reid • railroad • economic stimulus package • Department of Transportation • Obama administration • Ray LaHood

ANALYSIS

How Cheap Gas Hurts Green Initiatives, Feds' Bottom Line

Driving less not great for gov't coffers

Nov 24, 08 9:15 AM CST
(Newser) - Americans are driving less and burning less fuel, but it could be too soon for conservation fans to celebrate. That dip, and global economic gloom, has sent oil and gas prices spiraling down, Joseph White writes in the Wall Street Journal, depriving the government of taxes it needs for transportation... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • conservation • gas prices • oil price • gas tax • Department of Transportation • financial crisis • gasoline prices • President Obama

States Consider Leasing Roads as Upkeep Takes Toll

$12.8B deal could make Penn. Turnpike largest such public-private partnership

Aug 26, 08 2:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - With Pennsylvania legislators set to vote next month on a $12.8 billion deal that would put the 537-mile Pennsylvania Turnpike under private operation, such public-private partnerships are accelerating across the US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Often bankrolled by infrastructure funds—which have $160 billion under management—the projects... More »

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transit • Pennsylvania • road budget • Gov. Ed Rendell • highways • Indiana Toll Road • Department of Transportation

Gas Prices Drive Americans
Off the Road

Motoring takes record drop: 11B fewer
miles in March

May 27, 08 3:31 AM CDT
(Newser) - The summer driving season that kicked off over Memorial Day weekend will see significantly fewer Americans hitting the road, reports CNN: Figures from March released yesterday show the biggest decline in driving since the federal government began keeping records in 1942—down 4.3% or 11 billion miles from last... More »

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gas • driving • gas prices • Department of Transportation • drivers • cars

Key Inspector Says FAA
Crackdown Long Overdue

Agency's renewed inspection efforts long overdue, sweeping changes needed

Apr 10, 08 2:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Federal Aviation Administration is too lax, and its recent toughening-up long overdue, the Transportation Department’s inspector general Calvin Scovel told senators today. The agency should not rely, as it has until recently, on airlines to voluntarily disclose safety oversights, and shouldn’t provide loopholes for the appropriate penalties... More »

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FAA • airline industry • oversight • American Airlines • Department of Transportation • Calvin Scovel

Southwest Faces Record Fines

Airline found several cracks after skipping required safety checks

Mar 6, 08 4:18 AM CST
(Newser) - Southwest Airlines faces at least $3 million in fines sought by the FAA for failing to inspect 46 older Boeing 737-300 jets for structural flaws identified in a 2004 safety directive, reports the Wall Street Journal. The expected penalty would be the largest imposed on an airline in 20 years.... More »

MORE ABOUT:
FAA • safety • inspection • Southwest Airlines • Boeing 737-300 • airworthiness • House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee • Department of Transportation • fine • maintenance

11 Stories


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