Department of Transportation News

Companies Pledge Millions in Fed Effort to Stem Road Deaths

Nearly 50 businesses and nonprofits – including rideshare companies Uber and Lyft, industrial giant 3M and automaker Honda – are pledging millions of dollars in initiatives to stem a crisis in road fatalities under a new federal effort announced Friday. …

Traffic Fatalities Continue on Record Pace But Not in All States

The number of U.S. traffic deaths surged in the first nine months of 2021 to 31,720, the government reported Tuesday, keeping up a record pace of increased dangerous driving during the coronavirus pandemic. The estimated figure of people dying in …

Engineers Grade U.S. Infrastructure C- as Biden, Congress Prepare to Debate Fix

America’s infrastructure has scored near-failing grades for its deteriorating roads, public transit and storm water systems due to years of inaction from the federal government, the American Society of Civil Engineers reports. Its overall grade: a mediocre C-. In its …

Overall U.S. Traffic Is Down 16% for Year

Travel on all U.S. roads and streets for 2020 is down by 264.2 billion vehicle miles, or 16.6%, according to the Department of Transportation. For June traffic was down 36.5 billion vehicle miles, or 13.0%, compared with June 2019. Travel …

U.S. Permits Startup Nuro to Deploy Up to 5,000 Driverless Delivery Vehicles

In a first-of-its-kind approval by U.S. regulators, a federal agency on Thursday gave permission for autonomous vehicle startup Nuro Inc. over the next two years to deploy up to 5,000 low-speed electric delivery vehicles without human controls like mirrors and …

U.S. Agency Calls for Better Safety Metrics for Autonomous Cars

Autonomous vehicle manufacturers need a better yardstick to show that their products are safe, said Derek Kan, under secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation. The metrics that are most widely used by self-driving car developers — miles …

Big Increase in Pedestrian Fatalities in Hawaii

The state Department of Transportation says pedestrian fatalities have increased by 525 percent from the same time last year. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported 25 pedestrians have died as of Sept. 13 this year compared with four deaths last year in …

New York’s Senators Call for Probe of FAA Approval of Doors-Off Flights

New York’s senators are calling for a probe into how “doors-off” helicopter sightseeing flights and the tight harness systems were ever approved by the Federal Aviation Administration in the first place. U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand made the …

10 U.S.-Designated Autonomous Vehicle Testing Sites

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently designated 10 “proving grounds” to encourage safe testing of automated vehicle technologies. “The designated proving grounds will collectively form a Community of Practice around safe testing and deployment,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. …

Four Critical Defects Found in Latest Oil Train Inspections in New York

State and federal inspectors found four critical defects and 42 non-critical ones in the latest round of oil train and track inspections across New York state. Gov. Andrew Cuomo says the targeted inspections of tank cars and tracks are critical …