Free Republic

Like more Baltimore-style bridge-ship collisions? According to a news nugget buried deep in a long Washington Post investigative report, ships losing propulsion is shockingly common and can lead to ships running aground or colliding with bridges and other structures. A look at Coast Guard records showed that more than 100 incidents involved huge container ships. One of the reasons they happen is because of greenie fuel mandates.The story is actually very good and very long, giving the reader a feel for what drives how ports operate.But that tiny item about greenie environmental regulations forcing ships to change fuel after they...

On Friday’s “PBS NewsHour,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg stated that the Department of Transportation has “taken so many steps on rail safety policy” since the East Palestine derailment and is “doing everything we can with the authorities that we already have,” but accidents have gone up despite this because Congress needs to act. Buttigieg said, “For our department, the process mainly has to do with making sure things like this can’t happen again, which is why we’ve taken so many steps on rail safety policy and are pressing Congress to do more with the power that it has.”

Boeing has had a tumultuous month with a series of public relations disasters that sunk its market price and placed lives at risk. It began when a piece of a door panel blew off a 737 Max 9 aircraft on a routine flight from Portland, Oregon, to Ontario, California. It led to a temporary grounding of the 737 Max 9, which, upon further inspection, was discovered to have numerous issues, not least being that bolts needed to be tightened.The Federal Aviation Administration later issued an indefinite grounding of the 737 Max 9 and an audit of Boeing’s manufacturing process. This...

(March 17, 2023)- On March 16, 2023, at approximately 9:11 p.m., officers from the Cape Coral Police Department responded to a call for service at 2100-Block of SW 45th Terrace, Cape Coral, Lee County, Florida, in reference to a boating hit and run. The call notes stated that a male, later identified as Kurt James Snowden (W/M 8-25-1971, 2517 SW 52nd Street), was highly intoxicated and was operating a boat inside the canals, causing a scene. Mr. Snowden played music loudly, screamed, disturbed the peace, and struck several docks in the area with his boat. Contact was made with witnesses...

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A study on auto insurance rates across the country found that in Florida, women pay an average more than $300 higher than men. The study, by QuoteWizard, said it was the second largest gender gap in the country, when it came to auto insurance rates. Generally, the study said men tend to pay slightly less no matter where. However, sometimes it’s a matter of age. Teenage male drivers pay more than their female counterparts, but overall men pay less. “On average, we found that men pay $720 per year for auto insurance, while women pay $739...

Who would have thought the mediocre mayor of Indiana’s fourth-largest city would not be a good choice to run the Department of Transportation?' What happened: Enemy of Freedom™ Pete Buttigieg launched a failed campaign for president of the United States at the age of 37 after serving two terms as mayor of South Bend, the fourth-largest city in Indiana. He was adored by journalists and other out-of-touch white Democrats due to his youthful nerdy gayness and Obama-esque ability to regurgitate platitudes.

Fatal accidents account for a significant number of deaths in the U.S. every year. For example, nearly 43,000 Americans died in traffic accidents in 2021.However, as Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu explains below, without the right context, it can be difficult to properly interpret these figures.To help you understand your chances, we’ve compiled data from the National Safety Council, and visualized the lifetime odds of dying from various accidents.Data and MethodologyThe lifetime odds presented in this graphic were estimated by dividing the one-year odds of dying by the life expectancy of a person born in 2020 (77 years).Additionally, these numbers are...

While we wait for an official inquiry into the possible correlation between the COVID vaccine and sudden death syndrome, a more pressing COVID-related probe was recently taken on by a group of Canadians whose research linked vaccine hesitancy with a high likelihood of — are you ready? — traffic accidents.Research studies are fine, but making a statistical correlation between COVID vaccination and car accidents is about as convincing to the sane as blaming Amtrak derailments on people with toenail fungus or oil spills on tinnitus. What next? Vaccine status will dictate who gets a driver's license? Yup.Published this month in...

If you passed on getting the COVID vaccine, you might be a lot more likely to get into a car crash. Or at least those are the findings of a new study published this month in The American Journal of Medicine. During the summer of 2021, Canadian researchers examined the encrypted government-held records of more than 11 million adults, 16% of whom hadn’t received the COVID vaccine. They found that the unvaccinated people were 72% more likely to be involved in a severe traffic crash—in which at least one person was transported to the hospital—than those who were vaccinated. That’s...

Russia is a dangerous place to take a fall. Every year, Russian citizens are killed by accidental falls, either out of windows or down staircases. I do not want to tell Vladimir Putin how to run his country, but really: He should set up some version of OSHA to make windows and stairs safer for Russian VIPs. Russia is such an perilous place that it’s worth considering what might happen if Putin himself were to slip and fall out of a window.

The Tesla is a revolutionary and savvy vehicle created by Elon Musk. Its features are fascinating, and it has a solid range for battery-driven cars. The body of the vehicle isn’t heinously designed either. I still prefer good old-fashioned electric cars. Also, overall electric cars aren’t all that green. Electronic waste is an underreported issue, and what do you think creates the energy at the recharging stations? It’s not wizards—it’s fossil fuels, specifically coal. It’s one of the luxury items coveted by liberal America. California will ban the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, though they’re also telling their residents...

A presenter on Russian state television has issued an apparent threat to "traitors" living in Britain. Kirill Kleymenov warned of the dangers of spying on Russia and advised those who betrayed their country: "Don't choose Britain as a place to live." The comments, made on Channel One's Vremya news programme on Wednesday evening, came amid speculation over who was behind the attempted murder of a double agent on British soil. "I don't wish death on anyone, but, purely for educational purposes, I have a warning for anyone who dreams of such a career," he reportedly said. "The profession of a...

Alec Baldwin and Rosanna Arquette are among a number of celebrities who have been slammed for sending thoughts and prayers to Anne Heche after the A-lister’s high-speed crash into a Mar Vista house while allegedly drunk. Baldwin took to Instagram on Saturday to send “my best wishes and all my love” to Heche, who is reportedly in stable condition in a hospital after suffering severe burns in the incident. According to a statement from the Los Angeles Fire Department, it took 59 firefighters more than an hour to access, confine, and extinguish the “stubborn flames” caused when Heche’s vehicle slammed...

As a heat wave continues across the country, doctors and firefighters are warning parents and caregivers about children falling from windows. Between 3,500 and 5,000 children, usually between 2 and 5 years old, fall from windows annually in the United States.

Drivers of bigger vehicles such as pickup trucks and SUVs are more likely to hit pedestrians while making turns than drivers of cars, according to a new study. The research released Thursday by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety points to the increasing popularity of larger vehicles as a possible factor in rising pedestrian deaths on U.S. roads. The authors also questioned whether wider pillars holding up roofs of the larger vehicles make it harder for drivers to spot people walking near the corners of vehicles. “The link between these vehicle types and certain common pedestrian crashes points to another...

New data is out about traffic fatalities in 2020 and, despite the lockdowns from Covid, the numbers are shocking. Deaths on the road were higher during 2020 than any other year dating back to 2007 - during a year where less people were driving, Bloomberg reported this week. Even more alarming is the fact that 2021 could wind up being worse, as the government estimates that 20,160 have died from crashes in the first half of 2021 - a stunning 18.4% increase from 2020. Transportation Secretary "Mayor Pete" said in October, when the numbers were released: “This is a crisis....

After years of work, shifting lanes, blocked exits and delays, the I-4 Ultimate Construction project is finally almost done. The new system will bring new lanes and tolls, and will offer a road that should be safer and faster. Advertisement Lynden Turnquest works for Truly Nolen, and for more than six years he's weaved his way through construction, hoping for relief, but not betting on it. "Once it opens up and the construction is done it'll be like WOOHOO!!! And then it's back to traffic again," Turnquest said. But how did we get to the point where officials felt we...

Alec Baldwin discharged a prop firearm on a New Mexico film set Thursday, Oct. 21, killing the director of photography and wounding the director, according to local law enforcement officials. The incident occurred on the set of the Western film Rust, though it is unclear whether the actors were rehearsing or filming a scene. The circumstances of the incident are still under investigation, and no charges have been filed against the 63-year-old actor, according to local media reports.

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Colorado State Patrol said two people died in a head-on collision Thursday afternoon on U.S. 285. Police said an adult and child died in the crash.

TACOMA, Wash. — State troopers are responding to an increased number of traffic collisions near an Interstate 5 construction zone in Tacoma. “We’re looking at a little more than two collisions that happen on this stretch per day,” Trooper Robert Royer with the Washington State Patrol said. The data provided by the agency, which covers the distance between milepost 132 (near state Route 16 exit) to milepost 136 (near the Port of Tacoma Road exit), shows traffic collisions are up 33% since 2019. With more than 400 collisions already reported this year (so far), troopers are responding to at least...