Transportation

$23 million available to fund Safe Routes to School

April 23, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD—Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Acting Secretary Milton R. Sees announced today $23 million is available to fund projects that encourage and enable students to safely walk and bike to school. The new Safe Routes to School Program (SRTS) is a federally funded initiative that will fund projects in Illinois schools and communities over the next three years.    » read more »

April 20, 2007 -- FRANKFORT, Ky.— The Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet’s Division of Fleet Management continues to replace larger, less fuel-efficient vehicles traditionally included in the state motor pool with more energy efficient and environmentally friendly models, such as hybrid and flexible fuel vehicles.    » read more »

Approval of Governor's Tax Fairness Plan would allow for expansion of the road system and economic development

April 19, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD – Acting Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Milt Sees today unveiled Governor Rod R. Blagojevich’s $10.9 billion multiyear Highway Improvement Program (MYP) for the Fiscal Years 2008 through 2013. The Multiyear Plan (MYP) focuses on maintenance of the current road system. The MYP complements $3 billion in capital road projects included in Governor Blagojevich’s Tax Fairness Plan proposed in Senate Bill 1.    » read more »

Michigan could see $2.3 billion to $3.5 billion in user benefits

April 18, 2007 - - Improved passenger rail service offers a convenient, alternative way to travel, which translates into substantial economic benefits for users, communities and states, according to a new report issued by the nine states participating in the Midwest Regional Rail Initiative (MWRRI). The MWRRI consists of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin.    » read more »

This act authorized the building of highways throughout the nation, which would be the biggest public works project in the nation's history.    » read more »

This act, passed on July 1, 1862, provided Federal subsidies in land and loans for the construction of a transcontinental railroad across the United States.    » read more »

Testimony Before Senate Subcommittee Exposes Serious Safety Threats, Legal Problems With Bush Administration’s NAFTA Trucks Plan

March 8, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congress must halt the Bush administration’s dangerous plan to provide access to all U.S. highways for Mexico-domiciled trucks under a program that fails congressionally mandated safety requirements, according to testimony given today by Public Citizen to a Senate subcommittee. The testimony revealed how the administration’s current strategy for implementing a 2001 NAFTA order to provide such access illegally re-labels a longstanding administration border-opening plan as a “pilot project.”

Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen and administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 1977 to 1981, testified before the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies about the safety improvements needed before allowing cross-border trucking from Mexico.    » read more »

Public Has Until April 10 to Comment on New Car Assessment Program

March 7, 2007 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation today called on automakers, safety advocates and consumers to help the federal government develop a new and more effective five-star safety rating program used by many consumers when deciding which vehicles to buy.

Secretary Peters and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator Nicole Nason today kicked off a day-long public meeting on proposed improvements to the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) used to develop the government’s five-star safety ratings, and urged the public to offer suggestions on ways to improve the program by April 10, 2007.

The Secretary asked for ideas on the best way to improve the current front, side and rollover tests conducted by NCAP. She also asked for advice on whether the Department’s proposed enhancements, including adding upper leg injuries to its frontal crash tests and head injuries to its side crash tests, would raise the bar on safety. She also asked for advice on the best way to include ratings for proven crash avoidance technologies such as electronic stability control, and those emerging ones like lane-departure and rear-collision avoidance.    » read more »

March 7, 2007 -- The number of train accidents declined for the second year in a row and there were fewer highway-rail grade crossing collisions according to preliminary 2006 rail safety data announced today by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters.

“The aggressive actions we are taking to improve rail safety are paying dividends," Secretary Peters said. “As a result, many communities where trains operate are safer,” she added, noting that 36 states experienced fewer train accidents in 2006 as compared to 2005.

The preliminary statistics released today by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) reveal that in 2006 railroads had 402 fewer train accidents nationwide, or a 12.4 percent reduction from 2005, Peters said. Specifically, the number of derailments declined 8.3 percent and collisions between trains decreased by 27.1 percent. Texas led the nation with 51 fewer train accidents last year followed by Ohio (34), Nebraska (32), Indiana (29), New Jersey (24), and California (23).    » read more »

Testimony Details Program Changes Necessary for Keeping NCAP Relevant

March 7, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - The New Car Assessment Program (NCAP), originally launched by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in 1978, is long overdue for an update, according to testimony given today by Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook before NHTSA and the Department of Transportation.

The program, which was introduced while Claybrook was head of NHTSA, provides consumers with information about vehicle performance under conditions that are more stringent than those used for safety standards and has been a model for similar programs initiated in other countries. However, programs in the European Union, Japan and Australia are now more comprehensive than NCAP, highlighting the need for NHTSA to modernize the program.    » read more »

Public Has Until April 10 to Comment on New Car Assessment Program

March 7, 2007 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation today called on automakers, safety advocates and consumers to help the federal government develop a new and more effective five-star safety rating program used by many consumers when deciding which vehicles to buy.

Secretary Peters and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator Nicole Nason today kicked off a day-long public meeting on proposed improvements to the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) used to develop the government’s five-star safety ratings, and urged the public to offer suggestions on ways to improve the program by April 10, 2007.    » read more »

Administration Announces Plan Despite Serious Safety Problems

Feb. 23, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Highway safety groups today sent a letter to the Democratic and Republican leaders of key committees urging oversight hearings following the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) announcement that it will open the southern U.S. border to 100 long-haul, interstate trucking companies from Mexico. In 2001, safety groups supported bi-partisan legislation (Public Law 107-87, December 18, 2001) adopted in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate that put the brakes on opening the border until basic safety measures and procedures were in place.

Among the benchmarks are requirements for safety audits at Mexican trucking company places of business to determine each motor carrier’s safety management quality before awarding operating authority, the elimination of inaccurate data about Mexico-domiciled trucks and drivers provided to U.S. authorities, adequate border safety inspection facilities and certified random drug and alcohol testing already required of U.S. truck drivers. In a 2005 report, the U.S. DOT Inspector General (IG) found that many of those benchmarks had not been met. Another IG report is due to be issued in about two months.    » read more »

Proposed Rail Safety Legislation

February 14, 2007 -- For the first time ever the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will have authority to regulate railroad worker hours of service and will provide greater focus on risk reduction to improve safety in the railroad industry under a rail safety reauthorization bill submitted to the Congress today, announced FRA Administrator Joseph H. Boardman.

“We must embrace new methods and strategies to further reduce the number of accidents in the rail industry,” Boardman said. “Railroads must be more accountable for the safety of their operations and rail employees need work schedules that reduce fatigue and promote safety,” he added, noting that the bill will reauthorize the federal rail safety program through 2011.    » read more »

February 13, 2007 -- The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration today announced that 24 passenger vehicles for the 2007 model year have received five stars in front and side crash tests, the highest government rating under the agency’s New Car Assessment Program.

The newly tested models earning five stars include a seven of four-door passenger vehicles: Dodge Caliber; Ford Five Hundred; Kia Optima; Mercury Montego; Subaru Legacy; Saturn Aura; and the Toyota Camry. In addition, 17 four-door SUV’s earned a five star crash test rating for all seating positions: Acura MDX; Acura RDX; Audi Q7; Dodge Nitro; Ford Freestyle; GMC Acadia; Honda CR-V; Honda Element; Hyundai Santa Fe; Infiniti FX35/45; Jeep Grand Cherokee; Kia Sorento; Kia Sportage; Mazda CX-7; Saturn Outlook; Subaru Outback; and the Toyota Highlander.

Thus far, the agency has completed frontal, side, and rollover ratings for 63 of the 70 vehicles scheduled to be tested for the 2007 model year, representing approximately 79 percent of the 2007 model year fleet.    » read more »

February 8, 2007 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today awarded United Airlines the right to operate a daily non-stop flight between Washington Dulles International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport.

Today’s action finalizes DOT’s tentative decision to award the seven weekly frequencies to United, whose bid the department determined would serve the most customers and provide the best service to the traveling public.

"If there are two countries in this world that understand the need for fast, efficient and convenient service, it's the United States and China," Secretary of Transportation Mary E. Peters said. "That's why we are making it a lot easier to travel between the capital cities of the world's two most dynamic economies starting later next month."    » read more »