WFAA reports that the Dallas City Council will “consider” creating a commission to "to help ensure that camera-enforced intersections are selected without regard to the ethnic or socioeconomic characteristics of the area in which the intersections are located." A little history… In September of 2007, the Dallas city council approved 40 more red light cameras (for a total of 100), more than doubling the size of their contract with Affiliated Computer Services ("We believe the impossible is possible, and that giving up is not an option). In 2007, Dallas City Council member Angela Hunt asked her colleagues to delay the vote; she believed council members did not have adequate information on whether the cameras caused more rear-end collisions at intersections. In the end, the need to fill Dallas’ city coffers ruled the day: had the council delayed the vote, they would have been forced to plug a $140k hole in the ‘07 – ‘08 budget. Why? Revenue from the additional, yet-to-be-approved cameras was already included in the City Manager’s budget proposal. Meanwhile, Lubbock Texas turned off its red-light cameras on Feb. 15th, after a study showed an increase in rear-end collisions at all intersections in the Panhandle city. And now you know the news.

There's a great Simpsons episode where Homer learns that as a child he got a crayon shoved so far up his noise that it went into his brain and made him stupid. The crayon is removed and voila — he's a genius. Only that's not working out, so he decides to get the crayon pounded back into his noggin. Only how deep? Moe the bartender uses a mallet to pound the crayon in a little bit and then talk to Homer to gauge how dumb he's getting. Long story short, Homer is back to being a moron when he exclaims, "Extended warranty? I'll take it!" MSNBC.com is reporting that a pack of scam artists (e.g. Vehicle Services in St. Peters, Mo.) are mining the country for folks with Homerian IQs. Auto warranty firms are scamming ignorant consumers with high pressure warnings that their warranty is about to run out. Final notice. This is your last chance. They're also calling people on cell phones and at 4:00 am. Those feeble-minded enough to purchase $3,110 extended warranties find that they cannot cancel them or get a refund (we're shocked). What if your car should actually break? These extended warranties don't do much in that situation, either. D'oh!

So, where were we? Right. After a bit of the usual FoMoCo stonewalling, Ford recalled almost 11 million vehicles (beginning with the 1992 model year) to repair fire hazard flaws in their cruise control and anti-lock braking systems. More specifically, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) determined that the fuel rail cross-over hose in said vehicles may crack, which could cause a fuel leak. Consumeraffairs.com quotes NHTSA: “Fuel leakage in the presence of an ignition source could result in a fire." (Ya think?) And now The Blue Oval Boyz are back for round two, fixing the fix that didn't fix the problem. "Safety Recall 08S01" tells owners of 225k supposedly fire-proofed Fords that their rides "may have been repaired using a fused Jumper Harness containing circuit polarity that is not compatible with your vehicle."  In bullshit free form, please? My circuits (and lincolnsonline) tell me that this recall added a fuse to the ground wire, not the "hot" power wire. Oops. Oh, and another 57k vehicles have been added to the original recall. Meanwhile, CNNMoney reports that NHTSA has opened an investigation into similar fires involving a brace of 2007 model year Chevrolet Tahoes. If this turns out badly for GM, they're looking at a recall encompassing at least 400k vehicles. 

File this one under "no good deed goes unpunished." Boston.com reports that Ford donated four piston assembly patents to The National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization (NISTAC), took a $27m tax deduction, licensed the technology back from NISTAC, terminated the agreement, and then continued using the patents paying nobody nothing. One potential issue: does NISTAC own the patents? It claims it's the "replacement" organization for Mid-American Commercial Corp, which received the original dontation. As you might imagine, all this philanthropy went down before Ford hocked its future to stay in business. Ford made the piston patent donation back in 2000– and 44 more besides, on seven separate occasions, to institutions including the University of Michigan and the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences. 

Brand purists that we are, the tagline for the Njection automotive website leaves us nervous about their commercial future: "Speed Traps, Car Forum, Automotive Pictures….Anything else?" Then again, it's taken TTAC six years to get to 20k visitors per day; so what do we know? This much is for sure: there are plenty of speedtraps in this world of ours. Njection's readers have tapped into Microsoft's live maps and plotted tens of thousands of them, around the globe. Think local, speed global? "Over 50-thousand speed traps have been contributed to the site since its Thanksgiving public launch," says Shannon Atkinson, President of NJection.com, in the press release announcing the feature. "This response reflects the feelings of motorist[s] around the world." Terror? Anger? Suspicion? Shannon doesn't say. But he does trot-out the old argument that speeding doesn't kill people; sipping a latte while cell phoning your baby sitter and changing lanes at a red light camera-equipped intersection does. Anyway, Njection promises to make their map GPS device compatible, which could provide the site with a nice tidy profit (provided police or other do-gooders don't upload "fake" speedtraps). Bastards.

Over the last five years, London Mayor Ken Livingstone has been the paterfamilias of the UK's anti-car jihad. Spearheading this effort: London's congestion charge (CC), a £5/day daily toll to drive into the central parts of the City. Amid charges that the CC is ineffective and inefficient, emboldened by talk of global warming, Ken's upped the stakes. Literally. The Times reports that the daily CC is about to ascend to a whopping £25/day (50 bucks to us Yankees). At the same time, "Red Ken" is closing CC loopholes. The hybrid exemption will expire in 2010 (which is about seven years too late for Lexus's LS600h). But the part that really sticks it in and breaks it off is that London is ditching the exemption for people that live inside the zone. Right now they're paying a reduced rate of 80p/day. Residents within the large Congestion Charge Zone will now have to pay a cruel £6000 per year. Cars that emit less CO2 will still be exempt, which is nice. Mr. Mayor says the estimated £30 – £50m in "extra" revenue generated by the modified scheme will pay for new mass transit systems. And if you believe that, you'll believe Ken doesn't secretly want to ban private passenger cars from the inner city.

The AP reports [via the Dallas Morning News] that Hugo Chavez has threatened to launch an “economic war” and cut off oil sales to the United States. “Take note, Mr. Bush, Mr. Danger,” the Venezuelan President intoned. Chavez is responding to Exxon Mobil’s attempts to seize billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets, to compensate for the South American country’s nationalization of the multi-billion dollar Orinoco oil project. "The outlaws of Exxon Mobil will never again rob us," Chavez promised. Meanwhile a British court has issued an injunction "freezing" as much as $12b of the assets of Petroleos de Venezuela SA, Venezuela’s state-run oil company. The U.S. imports some 12 percent (1.23m barrels per day) of its oil from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Oil prices are expected to spike on the news.

The New York Times reports that AG Michael Mukasey is getting sued. Not for anything to do with waterboarding; for non-compliance with a 1992 law requiring that VINs of totaled cars be recorded in a National Motor Vehicle Title Information System. Despite that law being signed fifteen years ago, not all states participate, not all junkyards and insurance companies report as required, and unwitting consumers still end up with seriously wrecked cars that have been cosmetically rebuilt. Originally the DOT was supposed to protect unsuspecting folks just looking for a cheap ride, but it accomplished so little that Congress turned to the Department of Justice (DOJ) in 1996. Now, three consumer groups are suing the DOJ. Some consumer advocates claim that insurance companies have impeded enforcement because they make a tidy profit selling salvage vehicles with no recorded crash history. Other advocates say the insurance industry has been cooperative. Yes, well, an alliance of state AGs sued State Farm for not reporting 30k titles, settling for $40m but no admission of guilt. [TTAC welcomes reader/architect Donal Fagan's first blog post]

“Technology, alone, cannot solve this question of how to reduce emissions from cars. Reducing CO2 emissions from cars should be a shared responsibility.” And there you have it: Wolfgang Hennig's rationale for urging the European Union (EU) to spend more of its members' tax dollars to teach drivers how to emit less C02 (via their car, not personally). Wards Auto reports that Ford of Europe's "eco-driving manager" isn't alone in this "why don't you pick on someone else for a change" strategy. "The European Automobile Manufacturers Assn. says eco-driving training can lead to an immediate reduction in fuel consumption of up to 25%." So.. we're talking about government intervention in how you drive your car? Uh-huh. "The EU is leaving it up to the individual governments to run their own voluntary schemes, which if successful could lead to the EC including rules and standards on eco-driving in future legislation." But… how? "Isuzu Motors Ltd. has a new range of commercial vehicles equipped with an onboard computer system that records the use of the accelerator, gearshift, brake and clutch. Data is downloaded into a laptop, showing each driver how they perform on the road and acting as the basis for tailored eco-driving lessons." There's more, but it freaks me out. 

According to the LA Times, "Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants to eliminate most of the 229 vehicles in the city's executive motor pool, as well as cars from other fleets, to help close a $155-million shortfall." The Mayor's proposal would take 93 of the City Council's 108 cars off the public payroll. Redefining chutzpah and violating the borders of plausibility, Council members say the move would hurt LA's air quality; their city-financed wheels are low emissions vehicles, while their personal wheels are gas-guzzling SUVs and suchlike. So it's all for the children? Well… City Controller Laura Chick, a former council member, said elected leaders use the cars to entice talented deputies who are in demand around City Hall. "It's become a traditional perk," said Chick, who would get to keep her 2004 Toyota Prius Hybrid under the mayor's plan. The Times says the Mayor and the Council will reach a compromise on the matter. Meanwhile, the LA Police run 1,105 take-home cars. A debate for another time? Count on it. 

Despite previous public prevarication causing camera climbdowns, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell is asking for funding for a pilot program of speed-detection cameras along a “treacherous” stretch of I95. "Those who choose to break the rules of the road need to learn the hard way," Rell said, showing her sympathy for drivers braving this treachery. In case you missed the point, Rell said she's “declaring war” on dangerous drivers. According to The Hartford Courant, the I-95 cameras would be the first such devices deployed on Connecticut highways. If the cameras raise susfficient new revenues for the cash-strapped state government– I mean, "reduces the number of speeders and traffic-related deaths," Rell says she'll expand the system throughout the Constitution State. Meanwhile, Rell's also hankering for 20 new state troopers for "increased traffic enforcement." According to the Gov., “The goal is to get ingrained into motorists' heads that they should not even consider breaking the law because there may be a state police car right around the corner to pull them over." Really? Just for thinking about speeding? Wow, that’s harsh.

Reuters reports that a former Daimler finance manager was sentenced to serve five and a half years in jail for embezzling more than 22 million euros ($32.5m) from the German automaker over a five-year period. A Stuttgart court ruled the 42-year-old man had submitted fake invoices for computer services and forged supervisors' signatures to obtain up to 2 million euros ($2.95m) at a time. Across the border in France, a court has fined Volvo 200k euros (nearly $300k) after the driver of a Volvo 850 TDI lost control of her car, killing two children and injuring another. The driver claims the brake became very rigid and she could not stop in time. Volvo is expected to appeal the decision. Meanwhile in Israel, a venture group known as C.En, says it’s developed a safe, lightweight hydrogen tank for automobiles. "The tanks will be like a battery that can be replaced and you can carry a reserve in the car," says Moshe Stern, who leads the project’s investor group. Unlike other systems, this one uses hydrogen gas rather than liquid. “We are looking now for one of the giants to adopt our technology and support it," Stern says. Uh sorry, the Giants have more pressing plans at the moment.

Filming yourself speeding has become an problem of pandemic proportions in Great Britain. Or at least that's what it would seem, based on the way the constabulary in England and Wales are reacting to the videos of highway hoonage on YouTube and other sites. Equating the videos to slasher flicks and pornography, the Old Bill wants the government to pass laws banning them. Apparently, the home-made vids "encourage more young people to speed and in turn, more young people to get killed." In Fife, Scotland, Chief Inspector Alex Duncan actually spends time scouring YouTube looking for the videos. He says if he can identify anyone in the footage, they'll persecute prosecute them. Even more Big Brotherish, Duncan hints at a wider probe. "What really scares me is how many people are doing this and not putting it on websites where we can find it." YouTube says it won't ban the videos, but if police think a post is evidence of a crime, they should "get in touch with them." While TTAC doesn't condone lawbreaking, and we accept the police's right to investigate criminal matters, we defend freedom of speech and personal privacy in all its permutations. And the video here was shot on a derestricted section of the German autobahn. In case you were wondering.

Let's not mince words here. Your average American loves watching a good ol' red blooded police chase. As entertaining as they are, you've really got to wonder if discretion is the better part of valor when it comes to running Johnny Perp to ground. In "Scott v. Harris," the U.S. Supreme Court didn't seem to think so. The Justices watched this video of police chasing of a 19-year-old man who refused to pull over after being caught speeding. In what Justice Scalia described as, "The scariest chase I ever saw since 'The French Connection'," the teenager led police on a 10-mile plunge down a two-lane highway at night. A police officer ended the chase by ramming the back of the teenager's car at 90 mph, sending the car flying down an embankment, rendering the fleeing teenager quadriplegic. The Court held that the officer's use of deadly force to stop the fleeing speeder (clocked doing 73 in a 55 mph zone) was reasonable– despite the option of calling off the pursuit and tracking down the driver by his license plate.  The Court states, "After watching the video, no jury could find the Police Officer's use of force unreasonable." What say you?

According to Albany’s Times Union, the New York State Thruway Authority failed to collect some $4.5m in unpaid tolls from persistent E-ZPass scofflaws using highway I90. Thruway Executive Director Michael Fleischer defended his agency. "We have been working very cooperatively to get a contractor on board to collect the small fraction of the tolls that go unpaid." That has state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's auditors questioning the authority's "management culture." Maybe it's got something to do with the Authority's proposed toll hikes for 2008, 2009 and 2010. The auditors get the connection: "Toll increases should not be a substitute for sound management practices." Meanwhile, in the tiny town of Halfmoon, officials are deciding how to deal with a large puddle at an intersection, which sometimes causes motorists to travel into the path of oncoming traffic; good thing they’ve scheduled a defensive driving class for February 16th. And in Guilderland, we learn that snow plowing a cul-de-sac is “quite a science.” And now you know the news.