Author: Joan Lowy
-
Science panel backs lower drunken driving threshold
WASHINGTON — A prestigious scientific panel is recommending that states significantly lower their drunken driving thresholds as part of a blueprint to eliminate the “entirely preventable” 10,000 alcohol-impaired driving deaths in the United States each year. The U.S. government-commissioned, 489-page report by a panel of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine released Wednesday…
-
Technology crammed into cars worsens driver distraction
WASHINGTON — The infotainment technology that automakers are cramming into the dashboard of new vehicles is making drivers take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel for dangerously long periods of time, an AAA study says. The study released Thursday is the latest by University of Utah professor David Strayer, who has…
-
Trump signs order to speed infrastructure construction
FILE – In this May 7, 2014 file photo, Rene Lima-Marin sits for an interview with The Associated Press about the circumstances of his sentencing and incarceration, in a meeting room inside Kit Carson Correctional Center, a privately operated prison in Burlington, Colo. Lima-Marin was sent back to prison after being mistakenly released 90 years…
-
A commuter’s dream: Entrepreneurs race to develop flying car
WASHINGTON — Even before George Jetson entranced kids with his cartoon flying car, people dreamed of soaring above traffic congestion. Inventors and entrepreneurs have long tried and failed to make the dream a reality, but that may be changing. Nearly a dozen companies around the globe, including some with deep pockets such as European aircraft…
-
Traffic fatalities continued to surge in first half of 2016
WASHINGTON — Traffic fatalities were up 9 percent in the first six months of this year compared with the same period last year, continuing a surge in deaths that began two years ago as the economy improved and travel picked up, according to preliminary estimates released Tuesday by the National Safety Council. An estimated 19,100…
-
Tesla driver killed in crash while using car’s ‘Autopilot’
WASHINGTON — The first U.S. fatality using self-driving technology took place in May when the driver of a Tesla S sports car operating the vehicle’s “Autopilot” automated driving system died after a collision with a truck in Florida, federal officials said Thursday. The government is investigating the design and performance of Tesla’s system. Preliminary reports…
-
US official: Debris from same type of plane as MH370
WASHINGTON — Debris that washed up in Mozambique has been tentatively identified as a part from the same type of aircraft as the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a U.S. official said Wednesday. Photos of the debris discovered over the weekend appear to show the fixed leading edge of the right-hand tail section of a…
-
Dangerous helicopter-bird strikes increase, few safety specs
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save WASHINGTON — The crew of a Dallas police helicopter was searching for a capsized boat last March, when there was a loud explosion and wind rushed through a huge hole in the windshield. The pilot,…
-
5 things to know about driving high on marijuana
WASHINGTON — The legalization of recreational marijuana in two states — Colorado and Washington — and medical marijuana in more than 20 others has raised concern that there will be more drivers stoned behind the wheel. What’s not clear is whether that will translate into an increase in fatal crashes. ___ WHAT WE KNOW While…
-
Will traffic deaths rise as states legalize marijuana?
WASHINGTON — As states liberalize their marijuana laws, public officials and safety advocates worry that more drivers high on pot will lead to a big increase in traffic deaths. Researchers who have studied the issue, though, are divided on the question. Studies of marijuana’s effects show that the drug can slow decision-making, decrease peripheral vision…