Better traffic?
For years, officials at the
Hampton Roads Transportation Planning Organization in Virginia have been working to un-bottleneck one of suburban D.C’s most congested highways. Now, with furloughs effecting 15 percent of the road’s commuters, planners can study improved traffic conditions without spending extra money. The opportunity could allow them to make specific recommendations. For example, they may learn how changing the government’s office hours would improve rush-hour.
Read More
Source: Daily Press
No investigation for crash victims
Last Wednesday, a bus full of North Carolina church-members overturned, killing eight people and injuring 14 more – mostly senior citizens. It’s a case that may or may not benefit from further investigation, admitted Sharon Bryson, the Deputy Director of The
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). But NTSB won’t have the option: All employees are furloughed.
Read More
Source: U.S. News
Highways are fine, for now…
The government shutdown may have choked funding for municipal infrastructure projects, but it hasn’t affected federal highways. All employees of the
United States Department Of Transportation,
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the
Federal Highway Administration are expected to continue business as usual. This means daily operations — including roadside inspections — and nearly all highway-related construction projects will remain unaffected. That could change if the shutdown persists.
Read More
Source: Transport Topics
Your car could be defective and no one has to tell you
It’s one of the subtler points of the federal cash-flow stranglehold. A note buried deep in the NHTSA website says vehicle-recalls, for the time being, won’t be announced. Drivers must rely on automaker to volunteer that information.
Read More
Source: Cars.com
Furloughed employees can put off car payments
Hyundai just announced a
payment deferral program aimed at over 800,000 public workers affected by the shutdown. The decision builds on the automakers history of economic sensitivity – In 2008, they launched Hyundai Assurance, a deferral program for laid-off workers. Some believe the program is little more than a ploy to build Hyundai’s image as a car company for the “common man.”
Read More
Source: USA Today