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Trains, Planes & Autos

Started by Imperator; Last updated Apr 8, 08 8:29 AM CDT by Imperator | View history

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Trains, Planes & Autos

You saw the movie, now read the news

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 121

1 2 3 4 5 ... 7 Next >>

October 2008
- TSA Set to Flush Liquid Restrictions
  
  Wall Street Journal | Oct 2, 08 2:31 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The oft-frustrating 3-ounces-in-a-baggie restriction on carrying liquids through airport security could be gone within a year, the Wall Street Journal reports. After testing out X-ray technology that detects bomb-making fluids, the Transportation Security Administration’s only remaining step is making sure the software works. “It’s not ready yet, but we are highly confident it will be effective,” the TSA head says. More »
- Engineer Sent Texts Just Before Crash
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 1, 08 3:36 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The engineer steering the Metrolink train that crashed last month sent a text message 22 seconds before the fatal collision, the Los Angeles Times reports. Robert M. Sanchez sent 29 text messages Sept. 12, a federal investigation reveals. The commuter train ran through a red signal and hit a freight train, killing 25 and injuring 135 in California's worst modern train collision. More »
September 2008
- Nissan's New Safety System Uses Bee Logic
  
  PC World | Sep 26, 08 3:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Nissan is set to unveil new collision-avoidance technology modeled on the behavior of bees, PC World reports, with a small robot car to demonstrate the system in Japan next week. The automakers’ engineers have developed laser range-finders that mimic the insects’ ability to adjust their path and avoid collisions by utilizing their 300-degree field of vision. More »
- Is Metrolink Up to the Job? Train Crash Raises Doubts
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 20, 08 2:05 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The country's deadliest train crash in decades has focused attention on mass transit carrier Metrolink, which operates on a shoestring budget and has many wondering whether it's up to the job, the Los Angeles Times reports. Five Southern California counties chip in to run the system, set up with relatively few employees to be light on expenses and low on bureaucracy. That means its board must grapple with managing a maze of subcontracts as well as the challenges of running the sprawling system. More »
- Engineer Texted on Duty, but Link to Train Crash Unclear
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 18, 08 1:58 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The engineer involved in Friday’s catastrophic train collision near Los Angeles was texting on the job, the Times reports, but investigators do not yet know whether Robert Sanchez was using his phone when his engine slammed into an oncoming freight train. Federal transit officials are continuing to analyze phone records in the crash that killed 25 people and injured 135 others. More »
- LA Train Riders Mourn Victims
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 15, 08 3:19 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Los Angeles' mayor joined commuters on half-empty trains today, saying they were still "the safest option for commuters” despite the Friday crash that killed 25. Stations were visibly quieter as Metrolink workers assured passengers the trains were safer than freeways, the Times reports. While many stayed home, one rider says, "I needed to connect with my train people to make sure they were OK." More »
- Texting May Have Led to LA Train Crash
  
  CNN | Sep 15, 08 7:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The engineer in a Los Angeles train crash that killed 25 people may have been text-messaging with two teenagers before running a stop signal, CNN reports. Federal investigators will be studying the phone records of the teenagers, one of whom told local KCBS-TV that he had been chatting about his interest in trains with the engineer and received a text a minute before the crash. More »
- LA Train Crash Toll at 18; Passengers Still Trapped
  
  Associated Press | Sep 13, 08 9:32 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The death toll in the Los Angeles train crash yesterday rose to 18 this morning, with 135 injured and more passengers still trapped inside train cars. Crews worked through the night to tear apart the metal to reach passenger spaces. "There's human beings in there and it's going to be painstaking to get them out," the fire captain told the AP. "They'll have to surgically remove them." More than 220 people were on the Metrolink train, which collided with a freight train traveling on the same track. More »
- Speed Limits Aren't Saving Lives, So Make Cars Slower
  
  New York Times | Sep 8, 08 1:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Speeding contributes to 13,000 US road deaths each year, and, at 30% of traffic fatalities, places only slightly behind alcohol, at 39%, Kent A. Sepkowitz writes in the New York Times . While preventing drunk driving is a complex problem requiring cooperation of motorists, police, and educators, speeding can be prevented easily: by making cars that cannot physically exceed the speed limit. More »
- Goodbye, Autos; Hello, Podcar
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 8, 08 12:27 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Forget alternative fuels and dump rusting gas guzzlers altogether for the driverless podcar, which offers "the convenience of an auto without the negatives," Catherine G. Burke writes in the Los Angeles Times . The sleek, electric-powered compartments seat four and use monorail-esque "guideways" to reach select destinations. It sounds futuristic, but England, Sweden, and the UAE are already investing in it. More »
- Cars Driven Out of Pop Music
  
  Washington Post | Sep 7, 08 2:18 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Songs paying homage to cars exploded onto the scene in the earliest days of rock 'n' roll, but since the the Beach Boys described the workings of their "409" and Bruce Springsteen sang about "Racing in the Street," auto-themed rock seems to have gone the way of the Delorean, the Washington Post reports. More »
- Passenger Fight Over Smoking Diverts Flight
  
  CNN | Sep 7, 08 8:43 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A fight provoked by smoking in an airplane bathroom forced a JetBlue flight from Boston en route to Florida to land in Raleigh, NC, yesterday, CNN reports. A man reportedly argued with his brother about smoking on the plane, and one punched the other in the face, according to witnesses. One of the men was arrested by authorities in Raleigh. More »
- More US Drivers Take Swing at Golf Carts
  
  Fort Wayne Journal Gazette | Sep 2, 08 5:04 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Faced with high fuel prices, many Americans are leaving the hot rod at home and zipping around town in golf carts. But the country club staple’s trip from the fairway to Main Street hasn't been entirely smooth, the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reports. Rules governing their use vary from municipality to municipality, and as safety concerns grow, law-enforcement agencies are being forced to rethink the rules of the road. More »
August 2008
- US Slow to Hop On Global Biking Boom
  
  Washington Post | Aug 31, 08 3:34 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The US remains uninspired by nations that have prodded people to save money by biking to work, the Washington Post reports. Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands installed infrastructure years ago to benefit bikers and discourage cars, but America—along with Canada, Australia, and Britain—have not. "It is very clear how to do this," one expert said. "It is not rocket science." More »
- Last Call for Chicago Bar Cars
  
  Chicago Tribune | Aug 27, 08 4:18 PM CDT