The Dallas News reports that the Live Large, Think Big city is dealing with another consequences of red light cameras: they work. "We did not anticipate having such success so early with the number of people not running red lights," said Zaida Basora, Dallas' assistant director of public works and transportation. "If you have success in safety, you don't have a lot of success in revenue. The other side is the people will go back to what they were doing before without the cameras." Since installing the cameras, Dallas estimates gross revenue from red light cameras dropped from $14m to $4m. The kicker? Dallas signed a contract guaranteeing the system's operators $3800 per camera per month. Dallas is now planning on scaling back to just 100 cameras (that's $380k per month to the sys admin). Last month, Dallas faced accusations of race-biased camera placement. So is the shut down a financial issue or just an out for last month's problems? One wonders which cameras were switched off.. but it's probably both.

According to the National Post. the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 restricts Americans from importing alternative fuels if making them generates more greenhouse gases than conventional refining. That would certainly seem to apply to fuel from Alberta's tar sands (a.k.a. "oil sands"). To make the change to petroleum, the Canadian bitumen must be mechanically mined, then intensely heated. Yes, well, Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson (currently blamed for the NAFTA leaks in the Obama-Clinton race) argues that the Act shouldn't include Alberta's million barrels a day output. In a letter to US officials, Mr. Wilson warned that compromising the tar sands– a key supply of oil to U.S. naval fleets– might have "unintended consequences" for both countries. Meanwhile, after five days of record oil prices, gas prices have risen to $5.20 a gallon in California and even £5 a gallon (110.9p per litre) on UK motorways.

Back in the day, if you needed to *ahem* "borrow" a bit of gas from a neighbor, you stuck a rubber hose down the filler neck, sucked on it until you got a mouthful of gas, spat out the gas and siphoned whatever you needed into whatever container you had. Now that gas is on its way to $4/gallon, gas thefts are becoming more common. But what's an enterprising thief to do with locking gas caps or fuel doors? 9News out of Denver reports scrotes are drilling holes in the gas tanks to siphon out the liquid gold. They're targeting SUVs and other vehicles with a lot of ground clearance (and usually, huge gas tanks), leaving behind about $500 in damages above the cost of the gas they steal. Denver police are recommending owners put their cars inside garages if possible. And if not possible, the owners may want to take out additional fire insurance; it's only a matter of time before one of these mental midgets starts a fire and burns the vehicle (and possibly themselves) to the ground.

According to The New York Times, San Franciscans have been shocked (shocked I tell you) by vicious assaults "related to finding places to park, including an attack in which a young man was killed trying to defend a spot he had found." Victims (other than the English language) include SF parking control officers (PCO). The don't call them meter maids say the public abuse is insoportable.For example, a motorist [allegedly] punched a parking control officer straight through the window of his Geo Metro. "Just driving down the street, you get yelled at," claims Lawanna Preston. The staff director for the union representing the PCOs says her co-workers "can't even eat lunch with that uniform on, because people approach them and curse at them." Blogger John Van Horn reports that paranoia strikes deep in the heart of the city. "I've noticed lately watching some of the citation writers; they don't get very far away from their vehicles. They want to be able to get away." Rather than mounting some kind of charm offensive, SF officials are looking at mounting cameras on parking officers' vehicles to catch and prosecute anyone who dares challenge the PCO's authority commits an assault.

According The Wall Street Journal, New York governor Eliot Spizter admits he "failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself." Whatever. As Client Number 9 continues his fall from political grace, Empire State motorists are breathing a sigh of relief. The scandal effectively kills Spitzer's plans to remove the state's gas tax cap. If he'd been successful in that endeavor, the potential indictee's Petroleum Business Tax (PBT) would have elevated gas taxes by nearly $56m per year. The Hudson Valley Times also reports (retroactively) that "Spitzer Car Tax" would have increased NY's registration fee from $5 to $20. Oh, and Spitzer also supported Thruway toll hikes. So, once again America's hopes for freedom from onerous taxes begin with the Mayflower. [thanks to starlightmica for the link]

The existing Maine Turnpike (I-95) toll plaza was built in 1969. It was expected to last 25 years. Unfortunately, the Authority built the facility on wetlands; it’s sinking at a rate of about an inch a year. Finding an alternative site has been… problematic. For one thing, the southern end of the Maine Turnpike is littered with wetlands. For another, the proposed “dry land” location is meeting stiff local opposition. According to The Portland Press Herald, York residents don’t want the $35m toll plaza. "They're taking out our neighborhood," says Michael Walek. Walek says a crash at the toll plaza involving a chemical truck carrying chemicals– or a chlorine leak at the local treatment plant– would endanger hundreds of lives. "You certainly couldn't evacuate a backed-up highway like we get in the summertime." Suggestion: Just tear down the plaza that’s sinking, tighten the budget belt and call it good.

TTAC commentator Winklovic recently posted a link to an interesting website that introduced me to aftermarket air horns. I don't mean the pissant little Marchel and Hella beepers. Go to www.hornblasters.com and you can hear them; by God they're straight out of a Johnny Cash train song. I drive an ambulance with an air horn– the kind where you reach up and pull a chain when the kids on the sidewalk pump their elbows– and I'm here to tell you, those things can evoke miscarriages, soiled pants, split colostomy bags and pacemaker misfires. I was never aware that it's legal to put them on a car. A search of FMVSS, ISO and DOT standards turns-up nothing about maximum-horn-noise regulation. There are, however, numerous local noise regs that can get you ticketed for blowing one (apparently silent ownership is perfectly legal). Unfortunately, people who actually have these things seem to use them solely to cruise city streets at 15 mph and get close enough behind pedestrians to literally blow them into the weeds. That ain't right.

For some reason, The New York Times op ed department reckons Mayor Bloomberg's campaign to reduce the number of New York City's free parking passes will help his/their campaign for an $8 per day congestion charge. Huh? First, that's a whole lot of people paying bupkis to bring their car into Manhattan (there may also be tens of thousands of counterfeit passes). People who wouldn't be happy paying $8 a day to the city government for the privilege of doing something they're doing day in, day out on the City's dime. Second, they're all government workers. Let me translate: union employees. No single group can kibosh a new government initiative faster than a public workers' union. If you think about it, the best way for Bloomberg to build support for the congestion charge would be to hand out MORE free parking passes. Oh, and to cut down on fraud, Bloomberg's created a new, centralized parking pass authority within the Police Department's Internal Affairs Bureau. Fair enough? Uh, well, that department currently accounts for 58k free parking passes.

Back in early February, we reported that Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell was asking for funding for a pilot program of speed-detection cameras along a "treacherous" stretch of I-95. "Those who choose to break the rules of the road need to learn the hard way," said Rell. Today, The Hartford Courant is reporting "a high-profile defeat" for the Gov. Invoking fears of Big Brother, a legislative committee has rejected her plan after "an unusual philosophical discussion" over the rights of drivers and the power of government. The majority say the public's right to privacy outweighs the risks to public safety from speeding. State Rep. Ernest Hewett said "The camera will take a picture, and 10 seconds later, someone will get into a catastrophic accident. This is about revenue." Rep. Linda Orange said the bill was well-intentioned, "but it does violate civil rights." Representative James Shapiro says "Cameras aren't proven to make any one safer." What's more, "State surveillance of our law-abiding citizens is not an area in which I am looking for Connecticut to lead. A lot of other right-thinking people have made that judgment, and that's why these cameras have not caught on. Placing importance on our civil liberties is an American characteristic. Benjamin Franklin said the man who trades his liberty for temporary security deserves neither."  

I had to check the calendar to see if it was April first, but no; Mexico has banned the importation of all American used cars except for vehicles built in 1998. No really. As of today, our NAFTA neighbor to the South has forbidden importation of all American pre-loved cars, trucks, pickup trucks, minivans and SUVs built before '98, and all those built thereafter. Until now, there was a five year window, from '93 to '98. As The Detroit News reports, authorities responsible make no bones about the fact that the rule change was spurred by declining car dealers' profits rather than consumer interest. "The Mexican Consulate in McAllen said the change was made 'to restrict the entry of vehicles that compete with the Mexican car industry.'" Needless to say, the rule change has inflated the price of '98's and eaten into the price of anything older– or younger. "With the sudden change in demand, such 1998 models are appreciating for the first time since they rolled off the lot, their prices rising by $500 to $800." Locura.

Maine is enduring one of its snowiest winters on record . This has the state’s lawmakers pondering a bill that would allow the use of retractable studded tires year-round, reports WMTW. Under current Maine law, studded snow tires must be removed by May 1st. The bill, sponsored by State Senator Bill Diamond, would allow tires that deploy studs when road conditions get bad, and retract them when conditions improve. Diamond says the tires meet federal motor vehicle safety standards. According to gizmag.com, “retractable-stud tires incorporate an air bladder that pushes the studs out from inside the tire when needed, and deflates so the studs retract into the tire when not needed. The tires are not entirely maintenance free- the bladder needs to be refilled with air after the studs have been deployed around 50 times.” No comment.

Two leasing companies are taking issue with Canada's restrictions on importing vehicles from the U.S. Globe and Mail reports Fournier Leasing and Canadian Auto Associates have filed a class-action lawsuit against Transport Canada and the Canada Border Services Agency alleging they're part of a conspiracy to keep vehicle prices high. BMW Canada, Mercedes-Benz Canada and Mercedes-Benz USA are also named in the suit. The leasing companies claim Canadian import requirements reduce competition and raise prices 20 to 35 percent above similar U.S. models. They also say government restrictions on importers add additional costs. M-B Canada had no comment. BMW Canada said they weren't aware of the lawsuit, which seeks damages in excess of $1b.

As reported by OneNewsNow, more than 10k people have attended public hearings to "discuss" the proposed  four-thousand-mile network of toll roads known as the Trans-Texas Corridor (a.k.a. the "NAFTA superhighway").  "They're taking huge swaths of land. Some of it is prime agriculture land," Terry Hall of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom (TURF) protests. "And they're going [to] hand it over to private entities for commercial gain." Texas Governor Perry calls such critics "unenlightened." Perry claims people need the road system so they "don't spend all their time in gridlock instead of being with their kids at soccer practice or back home with their families." The Houston Chronicle reports on the public hearing in Katy, where dozens of speakers decried the road system as "un-American." "These are the things that started the American Revolution– the seizing of houses and land, and taxation without representation," according to Dianne Hodge of Waller. "If we need a new American Revolution to restore a government of the people, by the people and for the people, then let it begin in Texas."

Not that they will, but they could. In fact, they should. Check it: today's The New York Times op ed reminds us that "The final [energy] bill correctly included environmental safeguards. The most important is a requirement that ethanol, regardless of its source, achieve at least a 20 percent reduction in greenhouse gases compared with conventional gasoline." Only the Times (and TTAC) noticed two studies in Science magazine that conclude that ethanol production increases global warming. So.. that's it then. Until ethanol can be made from non-corn sources, the Environmental Protection Agency (charged with calculating ethanol emissions) should pull the plug on corn juice and sink the subsidy-sucking ethanol industry. The chances of that happening are between none and none. Still, it's nice to see the Times (almost) acknowledge a green boondoggle when they see one.