Free Republic

A woman who defied a driving ban on female motorists in Saudi Arabia has died in a car crash. Another was hurt in the crash in the only country in the world where females are banned from getting behind the wheel. A police spokesman said that one of the women was killed instantly but the other had to go to hospital to be treated for her injuries. The woman's death comes months after Manal Al-Sherif was detained for being behind the wheel in the only country in the world where women are banned from driving They were in a four-wheel...

The push to ban driver's licenses for illegal immigrants appears to be gaining some momentum with the legislature's 30 day session starting in just two weeks. Governor Susana Martinez is picking up some support for her crusade against the licenses, but she appears to be losing a vote too. Some Democrats are moving into the "undecided" category. Sen. Steve Fischmann, a Dona Ana County Democrat, is switching to the governor's side, saying he will vote with her because that is what the vast majority of people in hid district want.

A 6-year-old boy struck by a car at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was listed in fair condition Sunday at Gillette Children's Hospital. Zachary Drew, his mother and three siblings had been on his way to greet his father who was returning from an 11-month tour in Iraq with the Oklahoma National Guard, the boy's mother said Saturday. They were crossing the ramp to the terminal around 8 p.m. Friday when the accident happened. The little boy suffered a broken leg and nose, lost most of his teeth, and he may need reconstructive surgery on his jaw. "This guy turns the...

(CNN) -- Based on recent history and what's likely to happen to the nation's infrastructure, it's an inescapable conclusion: We will need new and different sources of funding if we are to have the type of transportation system that is needed to support economic prosperity. For the past 75 years, the U.S. road network has provided the foundation for much of the nation's economic development. This network has not come without a cost; estimates are that the replacement value of the nation's roads is $1.3 trillion.

Leads to lower consumption of alcohol DENVER (Nov. 29, 2011) – A groundbreaking new study shows that laws legalizing medical marijuana have resulted in a nearly nine percent drop in traffic deaths and a five percent reduction in beer sales. "Our research suggests that the legalization of medical marijuana reduces traffic fatalities through reducing alcohol consumption by young adults," said Daniel Rees, professor of economics at the University of Colorado Denver who co-authored the study with D. Mark Anderson, assistant professor of economics at Montana State University. The researchers collected data from a variety of sources including the National Survey...

MARIETTA, Ga. — Families of three teens killed by a drunk driving illegal immigrant are mounting a campaign to keep him from being paroled and deported. The families believe if Sergio Montelongo-Sanchez is deported back to Mexico he will come back to the U.S. and cause the same type of crash that killed their loved ones on Sandtown Road near Booth 11 years ago. They're also not happy he could be released after serving less than a third of his sentence. "He served just a little over 10 years. That's not very long for killing three beautiful young people," Delores...

During Thursday’s House Education & Workforce hearing, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) described the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) actions as creating a hostile environment for business. Wilson claimed that the pro-Big Labor Obama NLRB created an unintended consequence for Big Labor. Rep. Wilson said that the NLRB’s actions have turned the 28 force-unionism states into ''Roach Motels'' that will trap employers with the help of the NLRB, and prevent them from ever leaving or expanding outside these states’ borders. Wilson said that the NLRB actions translate into only one option for employers if they are going to locate in

A class action filed in Florida claims that it violates motorists’ free speech rights to ticket them for flashing their headlights, Florida Today reports. The suit was brought against the Florida Highway Patrol by a Florida resident, Eric Campbell, who claims he was ticketed within one minute of issuing a headlight warning to other drivers.

Driving while talking on a cellphone or texting may get costlier if Gov. Jerry Brown signs a bill that passed out of the Legislature yesterday to increase the fines for the offenses. Senate Bill 28, authored by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, will also add a “point” on driving records for second offenses, leading to higher insurance rates for those who do not comply with the state’s hands-free law, which went into effect in July 2008. The bill also will now apply to bicyclists, who were unintentionally omitted from Simitian’s original hands-free law. “Bicyclists also have to abide by...

EINDHOVEN, the Netherlands — As Sander Van Dedem recalled watching the charges tick up every 10 seconds (in his licenced and already taxed personal auto) on the dashboard meter on the way to the airport, he resolved to try public transportation next time. “Looking at the money makes you realize that a car isn’t always a good idea,” said Mr. Van Dedem, a commercial sales manager for I.B.M. here. The car had been outfitted with the meter so that Mr. Van Dedem could take part in a trial of a controversial government tax proposal to charge drivers a fee for...

Coroner: Driver on U.S. 30 whose son helped steer car died of natural causes By Times Staff | Posted: Saturday, July 30, 2011 7:45 pm CROWN POINT | A 32-year-old Chicago Heights woman whose young son steered her car across the opposing lanes of U.S. 30 into a wooded area Friday afternoon in Schererville died of natural causes, the Lake County coroner's office said Saturday. Samantha Volk died about 1:25 p.m. Friday at Franciscan St. Margaret Health in Dyer after reportedly activating her car's emergency flashers and pulling over to the shoulder of the left lane on eastbound U.S. 30...

Many Of Ola's Driving School Customers Are From Somalia, Ethiopia. More than 1,100 people must retake their driving test after the Colorado Department of Revenue shut down a driving school. ... an investigation continues into whether he accepted cash in exchange for certifying driving tests.

It may be illegal, but Californians are still breaking the law. Texting behind the wheel has tripled in Southern California since 2009, according to a survey from AAA. Although the percentage is relatively low at 4.1 percent, it is three times higher than it was when the California state Assembly enacted a texting ban.

Residents of San Rafael's Canal neighborhood are pushing officials to change the city's vehicle impound policies at drunken driving checkpoints, saying they unfairly target undocumented immigrants. About 40 members of the Comite de Vecinos del Canal, or the Neighbors of the Canal Committee, and the Youth Concilio showed up at the June 20 City Council meeting and asked officials to stop impounding unlicensed drivers' vehicles for 30 days at the checkpoints. Instead, they suggested the city follow the lead of other Bay Area communities, such as San Francisco, Berkeley and Novato, which have loosened their interpretation of California vehicle code....

For the second time in two years, the Michigan Legislature is trying to crack down on parking ticket scofflaws. The Senate passed a bill Thursday that would put a hold on driver’s license renewals if the motorist had three unpaid parking tickets. Currently, it takes six unpaid parking tickets to have an operator license put on hold. It costs $45 to have the hold removed. The Senate passed Senate Bill 130 on a mostly party-line vote of 26-12, with most Republicans voting to impose the new three unpaid ticket standard and most Democrats voting against. Senators Roger Kahn of Saginaw,...

ShareBan on texting while driving goes to Perry The Texas Senate and House on Sunday approved a final version of a bill that will ban drivers from reading, writing or sending a text or e-mail while they are driving, among other things. “Being on the phone is a distraction, but nothing compares to texting,” said state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, the Senate sponsor of the legislation. “It’s a dangerous practice.” She added the texting ban to a bill that extends the firearms proficiency certification period for retired federal peace officers. The Senate vote on the final version of the...

There are variations in driving styles on our roads and most motorists will fall into a distinct characteristic type depending on how they approach the task of driving. As you read through this list, you are likely to recognize yourself or someone you drive with. Which driving character are you? Nervous Nick: This driver lacks confidence in their driving abilities and is intimidated by traffic and highway speeds. The “Nervous Nick” will always drive at the speed limit or lower and will not accelerate enough to merge safely with highway traffic. They will display moments of indecision when it comes...

More than one in five Americans -- some 36.9 million -- are not fit to drive and would fail a driving test if asked to take one today, according to a new survey of the nation's drivers. Shocking as that may be, it's actually an improvement. Last year, 38 million received failing grades. Nationwide, the average score this year increased to 77.9% from 76.2% in 2010. According to GMAC Insurance, which conducted the survey, the results mean that a great number of people on the road still lack basic driving knowledge, an ignorance that leads to dangerous driving habits. For...

A new study ranks Minnesota as having the fourth smartest drivers in the country. A GMAC Insurance Study released Thursday states that one in five drivers on the road today cannot meet the basic requirements to get a driver’s license — that’s roughly 18 percent of American drivers. The study says if those drivers were to take the written driver’s test today, they would not pass. Kansas was named the most knowledgeable drivers in the country, while Washington, D.C. bumped out New York to take the last spot on the list.

FIRST IT’S DRIVING: THEN WHAT? Authorities detained a Saudi woman this weekend after she committed an unspeakable act of defiance in the not-so-magical kingdom: she drove a car - then posted a video of herself behind the wheel to encourage other women to follow suit. Manal al-Sherif’s YouTube video has attracted more that 500,000 views since it was posted several days ago. There is no written law that specifically bans women from driving, but Saudis must obtain locally-issued licences in order to drive legally – and such licenses are not issued to women – which makes it effectively illegal for...

Eilish De Avalon, my local town witch, is appealing against driving convictions. In her view she is “not subject to earthly laws” because she is “from another world.” Point taken. The report was written by Eilish De Avalon, according to News Limited.

I often see DUI cases or the like where the driver borrowed someone's car so they could drive despite the fact the have no license and/or are suspended. Why is it the owner of the car is never charged as an accessory to a crime? If the owner did not file a police report of their car being stolen and the driver has keys, the presumption of guilt and burden of proof should be on the owner of the car. (How else would another person be driving the car?)

Laura Barfield spends a lot of time these days swinging around Florida in her state-issued Chevy to defend the technology that the state uses to catch drunken drivers. As the state's chief defender of the breath-testing Intoxilyzer, her job is to assure everyone that the most challenged of all forensic tests is accurate and reliable. In recent weeks, she has been called to testify in Sarasota, Hillsborough and Port St. Lucie counties. In the weeks ahead, she has dates with courtrooms in Taylor, Lake, Leon, Pinellas and Escambia. It has gotten to the point where the state's breath-testing machine is...

When a good portion of Americans wake up to the facts of the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) non-disclosure regarding what IS a motor vehicle and what is not a motor vehicle, along with the true definitions of the associated words shared below, they will realize that all acts are voluntary AND who actually has the true power. (Not the usurpers!) ...read rest of article at link.

PHOENIX — State lawmakers will debate this week whether to give live children traveling in the open bed of pickups the same legal status as a dead elk. The measure to be debated Thursday by members of the House Transportation Committee would forbid anyone younger than 18 from traveling in the back of a pickup unless “safely restrained.” Some variant of the legislation has been pushed every year for more than a dozen years, usually falling by the wayside during the legislative process. One year the measure actually made it through the process — only to be quashed by then-Gov....

The Transportation Department is looking into technology to disable cell phones in vehicles, according to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "There's a lot of technology out there that can disable phones and we're looking at that," LaHood said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe." "I think it will be done," he said.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) states that distracted driving causes around 25 percent of the auto accidents in the U.S. each year. That's nearly 1.6 million accidents annually caused by many of the things we discussed above, most of which are so easily preventable. This video is a good example of an accident waiting to happen.  As Everyone knows, I am fed up with the millions of regulations and laws in America.  However, when I am driving down the freeway in a tin can at 65 miles an hour, the last thing I want to worry about is...

Austin chief pushes for new drunk driving charge Acevedo says proposal is aimed at impaired drivers, who can be dangerous even if they aren't legally drunk By Mike Ward AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF Updated: 5:14 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 7, 2010 A campaign to create a new category of driving while intoxicated is being promoted at the Capitol as one way to curb growing problems in Texas’ system of punishing drunken drivers. Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo, among the supporters of the change, said the idea behind a new offense of “driving while ability impaired” — DWAI — would cover drivers whose blood-alcohol...

Study finds slightly more accidents in the post texting while driving world California’s ban on texting while driving is supposed to make the roads safer, but it might be having the opposite effect. The non-profit Highway Loss Data Institute compared insurance claims in California, Louisiana, Minnesota and Washington state before and after their respective bans went into effect. In California and two other states, the rate of collisions actually went up slightly. The Golden State saw a 12 percent bump in accidents among drivers 25 years old and younger. So, what gives? Researchers think drivers are TNDWHFP: Texting ‘N’ Driving...

EXCLUSIVE Stig was SAS Hero  RACING driver Ben Collins, unmasked yesterday as Top Gear mystery man The Stig, is a former member of the SAS. Ben trained SAS heroes in daring "escape and evade" driving skills while serving with the regiment, The Sun can reveal.     No more mystery nice guy ... Ben Collins aka The Stig   Millions of viewers have seen the race ace coaching celebrities on how to achieve the fastest time around a TV circuit in Top Gear's reasonably-priced car. But sources close to the special forces unit - motto Who Dares Wins - last night...

New Technology Could Help Solve Texting While Driving Problem, Tennessee Attorney Says Morristown, Tennessee (PRWEB) August 4, 2010 – New software that blocks drivers from texting, e-mailing or Web surfing when behind the wheel could play a big role in reducing distracted driving accidents, says Tennessee personal injury attorney Brack Terry. The anti-texting applications, including CellSafety, iZup, tXtBlocker and ZoomSafer, generally use a phone’s GPS to determine when a car is moving and disable a cell phone or texting device when the car is going faster than 5 or 10 mph. The programs also have opt-out features. “These emerging technologies,...

A Lamborghini Gallardo for those who don't know. See reply 1 for photos.

ISLETON, SACRAMENTO COUNTY -- An Antioch woman died after she drove off a boat ramp and into the Sacramento River while she was talking on a cell phone with her daughter, asking for directions, authorities said today. . . . Just before the call was cut off, Collier told her daughter that her car was filling up with water and to phone her insurance company,

Fewer people have been killed and injured on roads following a decision by a local council to switch off its speed cameras. Accident data shows that in the first nine months after the devices were scrapped in Swindon, there were 315 road casualties in the area as a whole, compared with 327 in the same period the previous year. In total there were two fatalities – compared with four in the same period previously – and 44 serious injuries, down from 48. The figures were seized on by campaigners who claim speed cameras do little to combat problem driving...

Britain’s network of 6,000 speed cameras could be dramatically reduced after a raft of councils looked set to follow Oxfordshire’s move and switch theirs off. The county’s entire network of 72 cameras will be switched off at midnight tonight after the coalition Government pulled the plug on their funding. The change of heart could usher in a different landscape for Britain’s 33million motorists two decades after the first network was installed. Already, neighbouring Buckinghamshire said it is ‘very likely’ to switch off its cameras, while Bedfordshire, Suffolk and Derbyshire have launched reviews. (edit)  The moves, however, could be just the...

Motorist with three unpaid parking tickets at one time should be looking warily over their shoulder at what state politicians are doing with legislation that has cleared the Michigan House but come to a stall in the Senate. The bill would have the Secretary of State deny a driver license renewal to any motorist with as few as three unpaid parking tickets. It cleared the Michigan House last October on a vote of 68-37. But on June 30, when it was brought up for a final passage vote in the Senate, the chamber overwhelmingly rejected it with a vote of...

Driving while talking on a cell phone could get you a ticket in Troy starting July 29. So could eating while driving, combing your hair, reading a map or putting on makeup if the motorists can't maintain control of their vehicle, according to a new city ordinance recently passed. Troy Police Lt. Michael Lyczkowski said the police department supports the new ordinance because they found that many accidents were caused by such behavior. "It's a public safety issue," Lyczkowski said. "It's not a revenue generator. The type of behavior we are writing under the new ordinance could classify as careless...

Last week, President Obama's job approval rating sank to 46 percent in a Gallup poll, matching the lowest weekly job approval rating of his presidency. Few Americans were surprised. Obama's bumbling response to the BP oil spill drove the latest decline in his popularity almost equally among Democrats, Republicans and independents. But another Gallup poll taken about the same time contained even worse news for the president. After a year and a half of "hope and change," 49 percent of Americans consider the Democratic Party "too liberal" -- compared with 39 percent in 2008, when Obama was elected. This is...

A 91-year-old man pleaded no contest to a traffic violation and was sentenced to a year of unsupervised probation for an accident in December of 2007 that killed a Savannah woman and seriously injured her husband. Daniel Thomas Fogarty entered the plea on Thursday for the accident that killed 48-year-old Nichola Coe. The accident happened as Coe and her husband, 52-year-old Daniel Coe, were rushing to help a 17-year-old driver who had wrecked his car. Fogarty's $350 fine was suspended. As a condition of probation Fogarty is not to drive after dark, in bad weather or outside of Chatham County....

Some big auto insurers are raising the rates they charge to cover teenage girls, reflecting the crumbling of conventional wisdom that young women are more responsible behind the wheel. In a survey of teenage drivers, Allstate Insurance Co. found that 48% of girls said they are likely to drive 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. By comparison, 36% of the boys admitted to speeding. Of the girls, 16% characterized their own driving as aggressive, up from 9% in 2005. And just over half of the girls said they are likely to drive while talking on a phone or...

Driving is a major issue for seniors and frequently referred to as the nuclear warhead of caregiving. For many, driving is the last bastion of independence and the prospect of giving it up is tantamount to stepping into the grave. Some seniors refuse to acknowledge their limitations, although many have forgotten the rules of the road they learned decades ago. In such cases, family members spend countless hours worrying. Stop the inner turmoil and look for solutions. If you reach the point where you have to lay out the issue firmly, have some ideas or solutions for transportation needs already...

Cols sez u cant txt & drv after 5/5. City Council members approved a texting-while-driving ban last night within Columbus' 225 square miles. It will go into effect May 5 on all streets and highways within the city's boundaries. Although advocates expect Ohio legislators to enact a statewide ban this year, the local law's sponsor said Columbus needed to act to rein in what he called the most-dangerous behind-the-wheel distraction. "We cannot wait any longer," Councilman Andrew J. Ginther said. Columbus joins Cleveland and Toledo among the state's big cities - and Bexley among those in central Ohio - in...

A car plows into a lexington kroger store Saturday afternoon. The accident happened just before 3-pm. Police say a 79-year-old woman 'thought' she was pressing on her breaks while she was driving on Romany Road....but, instead, she actually was holding down the gas and plowed straight into the front entrance of the grocery. The driver, and two shopping customers walked away with minor injuries. The romany road kroger will be closed until repairs are completed.

From the time of the fatal wreck in January 2009, Peggy Pierce's waking thought almost every day was of her dead son, Joshua Carter. Next would come feelings of hatred for the drunken driver who killed him, Erica Kolanowski, 31, of Arlington. On that winter night, Carter, 20, and his 21-year-old friend Matthew Lundy pulled into a busy Arlington intersection on a green light and were broadsided by Kolanowski, who had hurtled down Green Oaks Boulevard in an SUV at more than 70 mph and ran a red light. Carter was killed almost instantly, and Lundy was permanently maimed. After...

Earlier today I was driving to Google for a product briefing, minding my own business, talking on my Google phone with Google PR and trying to figure out what Google building I was supposed to be driving to. I stopped at a crosswalk for a bunch of Googlers to pass. And this guy, who’s wearing a Google employee badge, decides it’s time to take a stand against cell phone use in cars. So he stands in front of my car and won’t move. That’s right, it was his Tiananmen Square moment. Cars behind me start swerving. I back up to...

Some argue that DUI laws have gone too far (joe.ruiz, Flickr).It seems like it could be a storyline out Steven Spielberg's 2002 movie, Minority Report: a Minnesota man was convicted of a DUI offense in a car that wasn't moving. What's even more surprising: the car wouldn't start at all. As it turns out, getting a bit tipsy and stumbling out of the house to sleep it off in the car may make you a felon. It happened to Daryl Fleck. That he'd consumed about twelve beers is not in dispute. His felony conviction for drunk driving, even though his...

Man Rams Car Into Restaurant, Eats Breakfast 92-Year-Old Cited For Reckless Driving POSTED: 3:58 pm EST January 6, 2010 UPDATED: 5:07 pm EST January 6, 2010   PORT ORANGE, Fla. -- Diners at the Biscuit's "N" Gravy and More restaurant in Port Orange received a surprise Wednesday when a car plowed into the side of the building. A 92-year-old man was at the wheel when his vehicle crashed into the busy restaurant on Nova Road. The driver wasn't hurt, but the cook said a customer had just left the damaged seating area. Investigators think Charles Pierce stepped on the...

MESA, Ariz. - A teenager accidentally ran over and killed her 17-year-old brother as the two played around in a shopping mall parking lot, police said yesterday. Ed Wessing, Mesa police spokesman, identified the brother as Dwight J. Brock Jr. and his sister as 16-year-old Nicole M. Brock, both residents of Mesa. The sister had dropped off her brother at Superstition Springs Mall on Saturday evening, Wessing said, and then they started playing around, with the brother jumping in front of the car and the sister slamming on the brakes. The last time that happened the sister was unable to...

People with gene variant perform more than 20 percent worse on driving test Bad drivers may in part have their genes to blame, suggests a new study by UC Irvine neuroscientists. People with a particular gene variant performed more than 20 percent worse on a driving test than people without it - and a follow-up test a few days later yielded similar results. About 30 percent of Americans have the variant. "These people make more errors from the get-go, and they forget more of what they learned after time away," said Dr. Steven Cramer, neurology associate professor and senior author...