Free Talk Live

SEATTLE -- Cars are becoming more and more fuel-efficient, and you would think that's a good thing. But Washington state is actually losing money because of it and as a result, the state is now considering a "pay-by-mile" tax. The state predicts gas tax collected today won't add up to enough cash to pay for future road projects. Drivers of fuel-efficient cars are spending less at the pump, which means they are paying less in gas tax while driving the same amount of miles.

From the Daily Post in North Wales: "66 police vehicles owned by North Wales Police were caught on speed cameras in 2009-2010, it has been disclosed. However no action was taken in 59 of the cases because the officers were able to prove that they qualified for exemption such as attending an emergency call or gaining on another vehicle which it intends to stop."

The extent of the threat from those with malevolent design is demonstrated by the video produced by the Argonne team. In the video a hacker inserts a small electronic device into the machine that gives him remote control capability from up to half a mile away.

“The cost of the attack that you’re going to see was $10.50 in retail quantities,” explains Warner in the video. “If you want to use the RF [radio frequency] remote control to stop and start the attacks, that’s another $15. So the total cost would be $26.”

he Obama administration proposed new rules Friday that would effectively require passenger cars to be equipped with video cameras and in-vehicle displays to eliminate driver blind spots behind the vehicle.

The rule would be phased in starting in 2012 and would apply to all cars manufactured after Sept. 1, 2004.

Rearview video is the most expensive single technology in vehicles, regulators said, and they estimated that equipping all new cars in a given year could cost between $1.9 billion and $2.7 billion.

Victoria police officers ordered a man to use his car as a road blockade to stop an out-of-control speeding car even though his children were sitting in the back.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said using a cell phone while driving is so dangerous that devices may soon be installed in cars to forcibly stop drivers — and potentially anyone else in the vehicle — from using them... “There’s a lot of technology out there now that can disable phones and we’re looking at that.”
“Am I on a rampage,” said LaHood, who has made distracted driving a top priority of his tenure, “Yes, I am, and why shouldn’t I be?”

Not that this should be a surprise from Bell, California...
A memo titled the "Bell Police Department Baseball Game," assigns "singles," "doubles," "triples" and "home runs" to increasingly more serious infractions, starting with parking tickets and moving on to vehicle impounds and felony arrests of drivers. Police officers competed to issue tickets, impound cars and arrest motorists.

Someone who may be posing as a police officer is pulling cars over on Mississippi highways and then shooting drivers dead, authorities said.

Authorities are asking citizens to be careful if they are pulled over and feel uneasy. They advise drivers to call 911 and verify that a legitimate officer is pulling them over or drive to a well-lit, crowded place before stopping.

Drug-sniffing dogs can give police probable cause to root through cars by the roadside, but state data show the dogs have been wrong more often than they have been right about whether vehicles contain drugs or paraphernalia.