Free Republic

A provision in the 2021 "infrastructure" spending package, as it turns out, includes a provision that directs the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to come up with a way to stop you from driving your car or truck if the government doesn't want you to. The measure is sold as a way to keep people from driving while impaired, but the implications are chilling. "A provision in the bipartisan $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that President Joe Biden signed in 2021 directed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to come up with a rule by this year requiring new...

Tens of thousands of illegal aliens across Massachusetts are rushing to secure driver’s licenses after voters approved a law to extend driving privileges to those in the United States illegally. Data from the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV), published by Chris Van Buskirk of the Boston Herald, shows that about 100,000 requests for appointments to get a learner’s permit have been placed since July 1, when the law took effect.

Drivers may soon get speeding tickets without ever talking to an officer, if a bill gets approved authorizing speed limit cameras. The program would give speeding drivers a ticket by using speed cameras and an automatic billing system, according to Assembly Bill 645. "The speed safety system shall capture images of the rear license plate of vehicles that are traveling 11 miles per hour or more over the posted speed limit and notices of violation shall only be issued to vehicles based on that evidence," the bill states. Fines would start at $50 for going 11 mph over the posted...

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday announced that the state will no longer recognize a number of out-of-state driver licenses that are given to illegal immigrants, enacting restrictions in legislation passed earlier this year. DeSantis, who is also running for president in 2024, announced that the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has published a list of out-of-state license classes that are now invalid in Florida. That list targets certain licenses given to illegal immigrants in Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Rhode Island and Vermont. It does not apply to typical driver licenses, but those with certain limitations -- including...

Roughly 300,000 illegal aliens across Illinois will soon be eligible to secure standard driver’s licenses thanks to a law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D). Late last week, Pritzker signed into law HB 3882 which makes illegal aliens in Illinois eligible for standard driver’s licenses that are compliant with the federal government’s RE 100 AL ID Act.

Democrat-run New York City is ready to hit residents and visitors alike with a “congestion charge” after federal approval was granted Monday for its first-in-the-nation plan to impose big tolls to drive into the most visited parts of Manhattan. The program could begin as soon as the spring of 2024, bringing New York City into line with places like London, Singapore, and Stockholm that have implemented similar tax impositions on drivers simply going about their everyday business.

States are scrambling to figure out how to keep making money to funnel into road maintenance amid economic struggles in President Joe Biden’s (D) America. Officials have historically spent gas taxes on roadways, but “the problem that has developed is those taxes are generating less each year due to inflation, fuel efficiency and the rise of electric cars,” Fox Business reported Sunday. Now, state officials are hoping to somehow replace those taxes, and charging drivers by the mile and not the gallon in the future is one among several proposals

BALTIMORE — A Maryland Transit Administration bus crashed into a building, causing multiple injuries. Baltimore City police said an MTA bus collided with a Lexus around 10:20 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of North Paca and West Mulberry streets. Police said the bus then struck a Nissan and a building in the 500 block of West Franklin Street. Police confirmed that 15 people have been injured. Two of the injuries were believed to be serious and possibly life-threatening. According to the University of Maryland Medical System, five people were taken to Shock Trauma, four people were taken to the University...

As more drilling and mining projects are approved in Alaska, local trucking fleets are planning to hire drivers around the United States to haul equipment, chemicals and other loads — particularly on its fearsome Dalton Highway, a remote, 414-mile road that connects Fairbanks to oil fields near the Arctic Ocean. The developments, particularly ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project, have been controversial as they may mar some of Earth’s most remote land. However, for the residents of the United States’ third-least-populated state, the new investments could bring an economic boom that many locals say the state needs. The construction of the Trans-Alaska...

May is Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month, and AAA Western and Central New York is reminding drivers and bikers of safety tips as biking season is upon us — as soon as the weather permits. The latest data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that fatal motorcycle crashes are on the rise: 5,932 motorcyclists were killed in crashes in 2021, the highest number since 1975 Motorcycle fatalities increased 9 percent in 2021 compared to 2020 (5,579 fatalities in 2020) Fatal motorcycle crashes accounted for 14 percent of all crashes in 2021 According to the Insurance Institute for Highway...

A missing Texas woman was found alive last week in a Jeep that plunged into a lake and was almost entirely submerged, police said. The unidentified woman had been missing from Longview when she was found inside the black vehicle in Lake o’ the Pines on Friday, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said. Pictures from the scene show the hood of the Jeep just barely visible above the water about 40 feet from the shore. The sheriff’s office’s statement said that a fisherman alerted authorities to the vehicle in the morning. Police arrived at the scene about 18 minutes later,...

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Friday filed a complaint seeking a court injunction to stop union members from trespassing at a South Side newspaper distribution center, two days after asking the court to force Mayor Ed Gainey and police officials to uphold the state’s trespassing law. Since a strike by the unions began in October, the complaint said the Gateway View Plaza depot on West Carson Street has been the scene of confrontations between striking Post-Gazette union members and independent contractors, examples of which were detailed with pictures of punctured tires and broken car and door windows in the complaint. The...

The Trudeau regime is threatening to arrest tow truck drivers if they don’t do their dirty work for them. https://twitter.com/GraduatedBen/status/1493606468846858249

As thousands of protesters entered Ottawa, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family were moved from their home to an undisclosed location somewhere in the city on Saturday afternoon due to security concerns, CBC reports.A "Freedom Convoy" of some 2,700 trucks entered the Canadian capital city of Ottawa Saturday to protest Trudeau's COVID-19 policies, Reuters reported.According to the Independent, around 100 big rigs blockaded a main street running past the Canadian parliament building.The convoy, which approached the capital from all sides, began as a protest against a vaccine mandate for Canadian truckers crossing the U.S.-Canada border but grew into...

Canada will require all truckers entering from the United States to show proof of vaccination starting on Saturday as part of its fight against COVID-19. That could force some 16,000, or 10%, of cross-border drivers off the roads, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) estimates. The government estimates 5% of drivers will be impacted, according to a government source.

All you truck drivers in need of work out there need to take a second to look into this: A company called Sisu Energy has been paying experienced drivers up to $14,000 per week. It may sound too good to be true, but it’s actually the real deal.(Click to site to see the video)When the COVID-19 pandemic started, many truck drivers left the industry, due to a lack of product to haul and reduced rates for loads. The trucking industry was already facing a driver shortage prior to 2020, and this only made things even more severe. Once the demand...

A 77-year-old man was pushing a bicycle on Interstate 14 in Killeen Friday morning when he was hit and killed by several vehicles, according to police. Some cars that hit him didn’t even stop, police said. “Several vehicles that struck the male did not stop and the Traffic Unit would like to speak with the operators of those vehicles, or any other witnesses, about the accident,” the Killeen Police Department said in a news release. Police have not named the man, pending notification of next of kin. He was pushing the purple, BMX-style bicycle shortly before 7 a.m. when he...

The number of U.S. truck drivers sidelined due to substance abuse violations has surpassed 60,000 and continues to climb by roughly 2,000-3,000 per month, according to federal data. The latest monthly report by the Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration since January 2020, revealed that 60,299 CDL holders have a drug or alcohol violation recorded in the clearinghouse as of June 1, up from 57,510 as of May 1 and up from 18,860 recorded in the clearinghouse as of May 1, 2020.Drivers with at least one substance abuse violation are barred from operating a...

The battle is on, as President Biden pushes a raft of tax hikes to pay for roads, bridges, green energy, and expansive new social programs. His plans are generally popular—but nobody wants to be the one footing the bill. Business groups argue that instead of raising corporate taxes to pay for infrastructure, as Biden wants to do, the government should rely on user fees such as tolls and dedicated taxes, so that people getting the benefit of the new asset bear the cost. Higher corporate taxes can depress investing, send US companies overseas and trigger aggressive tax avoidance. Douglas Holtz-Eakin,...

TAMPA — Transportation planners are preparing to use new technology to try to solve an old problem — traffic crashes and congestion on Interstate 4 between Tampa and Orlando. The state Department of Transportation is designing a corridor management system that will relay real time information directly to motorists about congestion, accidents, work zones, weather warnings and even end-of-the-traffic-back-up locations on I-4 and alternate routes. The idea behind so-called connected vehicle technology is to improve traffic flow on the interstate and east-west alternatives without adding new lanes or acquiring new right of way. On Wednesday, Hillsborough’s Metropolitan Planning Organization —...