/PRNewswire/ -- Where can we find the money to modernize and maintain our major highways? The federal government would have an additional $10 billion a year to spend on crucial highways if it stopped diverting federal gas tax money to projects with no national benefits, according to a new Reason Foundation study.
The federal gas tax was supposed to be used to build and maintain the Interstate Highway System. Today auto and truck drivers pay federal gas taxes that are diverted to ferryboats, trails and mass transit programs. Since these other programs aren't national, are unable to generate significant user revenues and require large subsidies, the Reason Foundation report says they should be funded by state and local governments. The 18.4 cents a gallon federal fuel tax should be refocused on rebuilding and modernizing vitally important Interstates.
"Sooner or later Congress is going to have to deal with the highway bill and the major shortfall in highway investment," said Robert Poole, principal author of the report and director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation. "It is time to rethink and refocus the federal transportation role more on core federal purposes and less on peripheral concerns. Congress could dramatically increase funding to reduce the large backlog of cost-effective highway projects by shifting non-highway programs either to states or to general revenues. This would restore the users-pay/users-benefit principle of the Highway Trust Fund by focusing on rebuilding and modernizing the Interstate system. This Interstate 2.0 approach would increase federal investment in the nation's most important arteries by nearly $10 billion a year without raising taxes."
The study explains how refocusing the Highway Trust Fund can restore the public's trust in infrastructure spending, which has been severely damaged by too many bridges to nowhere. Along with needed investment in an Interstate 2.0 system, the proposal would also reduce federal mandates and give states more control over their transportation spending. The Interstate 2.0 approach would give states incentives to reduce waste and administrative costs; prioritize projects that will produce the largest benefits; embrace public-private partnerships that shift financing and risk away from taxpayers and onto private investors; and utilize technology, tolling, and congestion pricing to produce a sustainable, user-pays 21st-century highway system.
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Showing posts with label federal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label federal. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Friday, January 1, 2010
Obama Administration Sends Strong Message Against Texting While Driving
24/7 - President Obama's administration is taking aggressive steps to curb dangerous distracted driving, especially texting at the wheel. In the spectrum of activities that can sidetrack a driver while driving, texting is particularly worrisome because it requires the combined use of eyes, hands and thought. The administration is actively responding to a concerned public, alarming scientific findings and troubling statistics.
The Virginia Tech Study
In July, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) -- based on sophisticated monitoring of over six million actual driving miles -- released the results of comprehensive studies on cell-phone impact on driving distraction. The study found texting the most dangerous of cell phone activities. In a heavy truck, text messaging while driving increased the risk of a crash or near-crash event by staggering 23.2 times.
Logically, texting takes a driver's eyes off the road for much longer stretches than listening or talking on a mobile phone. VTTI reported that texting at 55 mph can take a driver's eyes off the road for the length of a football field. Based on its findings, the VTTI recommends a total ban on texting in all types of moving vehicles and a prohibition on all types of cell phone use by inexperienced drivers.
The Distracted Driving Summit
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) hosted a two-day high-profile national conference in September that brought together 250 national experts from industry, science and government to put a microscope to the problem of distracted driving and to raise public awareness of the severity of the problem. In conjunction, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood revealed new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics that in 2008 almost 6,000 people were killed and over 500,000 injured in distracted-driving crashes.
Secretary LaHood also announced that the administration will work to ban texting by truckers, train operators and bus drivers -- both school and interstate.
The Executive Order
President Obama underscored his commitment to fighting distracted drivers when at the conclusion of the conference on October 1 he signed an Executive Order 13513, which prohibits millions of federal employees from texting while driving when using government equipment or conducting official business.
Congressional Action
Two major bills were recently introduced in Congress and are being studied in committee -- the Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers Act of 2009 (ALERT Drivers Act) and the Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009. The bills would, respectively, require DOT to withhold 25 percent of federal highway funding from any state that did not ban texting while driving and give a monetary grant to a state that bans texting and other cell-phone use.
Cautious Optimism
Safety advocates are watching developments in our nation's capital with keen interest. Just as firmer government regulation of drunk driving, seat-belt and motorcycle-helmet use started at the grass roots, it appears that the federal government is poised to take meaningful action to curb death and injury caused by drivers distracted by texting.
Article provided by The McClellan Law Firm
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The Virginia Tech Study
In July, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) -- based on sophisticated monitoring of over six million actual driving miles -- released the results of comprehensive studies on cell-phone impact on driving distraction. The study found texting the most dangerous of cell phone activities. In a heavy truck, text messaging while driving increased the risk of a crash or near-crash event by staggering 23.2 times.
Logically, texting takes a driver's eyes off the road for much longer stretches than listening or talking on a mobile phone. VTTI reported that texting at 55 mph can take a driver's eyes off the road for the length of a football field. Based on its findings, the VTTI recommends a total ban on texting in all types of moving vehicles and a prohibition on all types of cell phone use by inexperienced drivers.
The Distracted Driving Summit
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) hosted a two-day high-profile national conference in September that brought together 250 national experts from industry, science and government to put a microscope to the problem of distracted driving and to raise public awareness of the severity of the problem. In conjunction, DOT Secretary Ray LaHood revealed new National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics that in 2008 almost 6,000 people were killed and over 500,000 injured in distracted-driving crashes.
Secretary LaHood also announced that the administration will work to ban texting by truckers, train operators and bus drivers -- both school and interstate.
The Executive Order
President Obama underscored his commitment to fighting distracted drivers when at the conclusion of the conference on October 1 he signed an Executive Order 13513, which prohibits millions of federal employees from texting while driving when using government equipment or conducting official business.
Congressional Action
Two major bills were recently introduced in Congress and are being studied in committee -- the Avoiding Life-Endangering and Reckless Texting by Drivers Act of 2009 (ALERT Drivers Act) and the Distracted Driving Prevention Act of 2009. The bills would, respectively, require DOT to withhold 25 percent of federal highway funding from any state that did not ban texting while driving and give a monetary grant to a state that bans texting and other cell-phone use.
Cautious Optimism
Safety advocates are watching developments in our nation's capital with keen interest. Just as firmer government regulation of drunk driving, seat-belt and motorcycle-helmet use started at the grass roots, it appears that the federal government is poised to take meaningful action to curb death and injury caused by drivers distracted by texting.
Article provided by The McClellan Law Firm
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Monday, December 14, 2009
Federal and Local Government Cracking Down on Texting While Driving
/PRNewswire/ -- Motorists are being forced to be more responsible behind the wheel and with good reason. Whether eating, changing a radio station, interacting with passengers or talking on the phone, distracted drivers raise the chance of traffic accidents occurring; unfortunately texting and driving has become a new and dangerous trend that is causing federal and local governments to crack down on not only average citizens, but government employees as well.
Realizing the danger of texting behind the wheel, an Executive Order was released by the White House on October 1, 2009 stating that Federal employees are prohibited from texting while operating Government-owned, leased or rented vehicles. In addition, employees are not allowed to text while driving privately owned automobiles while on official business or using equipment supplied by the Government, with few exceptions. Federal agencies have 90 days from the date of an executive order to become compliant and enforce appropriate disciplinary actions for violations.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Executive-Order-Federal-Leadership- on-Reducing-Text-Messaging-while-Driving/
Many states are taking similar actions as well. Currently, several states have already set laws in place which ban texting while driving and it is expected that, by January 1st, 2010, twenty-one states will be enforcing these laws. According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, distracted drivers accounted for 28,395 crashes resulting in 114 deaths 14,480 injuries. These numbers are quite frightening and many of these accidents could have been avoided.
Being responsible and attentive behind the wheel may also help protect the lives of drivers and passengers occupying the roadways. Irresponsible driving may even lead to higher costs of insuring which is why websites such as http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/ encourage motorists to practice safe driving and obey traffic laws at all times. Poor driving habits lead to tickets and accidents which can cause motorists to be in need of high risk auto insurance policies leading to inflated premiums and more difficulty finding affordable rates.
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Realizing the danger of texting behind the wheel, an Executive Order was released by the White House on October 1, 2009 stating that Federal employees are prohibited from texting while operating Government-owned, leased or rented vehicles. In addition, employees are not allowed to text while driving privately owned automobiles while on official business or using equipment supplied by the Government, with few exceptions. Federal agencies have 90 days from the date of an executive order to become compliant and enforce appropriate disciplinary actions for violations.
Source: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Executive-Order-Federal-Leadership- on-Reducing-Text-Messaging-while-Driving/
Many states are taking similar actions as well. Currently, several states have already set laws in place which ban texting while driving and it is expected that, by January 1st, 2010, twenty-one states will be enforcing these laws. According to the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, distracted drivers accounted for 28,395 crashes resulting in 114 deaths 14,480 injuries. These numbers are quite frightening and many of these accidents could have been avoided.
Being responsible and attentive behind the wheel may also help protect the lives of drivers and passengers occupying the roadways. Irresponsible driving may even lead to higher costs of insuring which is why websites such as http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/ encourage motorists to practice safe driving and obey traffic laws at all times. Poor driving habits lead to tickets and accidents which can cause motorists to be in need of high risk auto insurance policies leading to inflated premiums and more difficulty finding affordable rates.
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