Safety

In the wake of the 2007 collapse of Minnesota's I-35 bridge, Washington policymakers vowed a renewed focus on repairing the nation's aging infrastructure. But weeks after the fatal collapse, Congress approved a transportation spending bill with 704 earmarked projects, at a total cost topping $570 million -- and just 11 percent of those earmarks went towards bridge repair, according to a new report released today.

If the equivalent of one jumbo jet full of Americans died every month, the resulting public outcry would be deafening. Or would it?

The Senate environment committee's senior Republican, Jim Inhofe (OK), delivered a stern warning today to any lawmakers who would force another short-term extension of federal transportation programs, which are set to expire at midnight Saturday.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) today unveiled his plan to take an incentive-based approach to distracted driving as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood testified on the Obama administration's campaign to end the use of electronic devices behind the wheel.

The transportation spending bill passed by the Senate this week includes $50 million in rail safety grants sought in June by environment committee chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) -- but the bill may not become law for months, and today Boxer told California's Metrolink commuter rail that interim safety protections would have to stay in place.

The recent crash of two D.C. Metro trains has laid bare a glaring lack of authority at the obscure local committee that is supposed to ensure transit riders' safety, as the Washington Post reported today. But the problem is bigger than the nation's capital: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has not issued broad safety rules for rail transit, leaving the issue in the hands of state oversight agencies.

We heard rumblings from sources in the days following the West Portal Muni crash that Ken McDonald, Muni's Chief Operating Officer, had been reassigned by MTA Chief Nat Ford. The agency never confirmed the rumor but this just in: McDonald has submitted his resignation with "mixed emotions." Read his resignation letter here (PDF). His last day at the agency will be October 9th.

Ray LaHood will announce today that his Department of Transportation plans to convene a summit next month for safety officials, lawmakers, academics, and law enforcement representatives to examine the risks of texting while driving.

Four Democratic senators introduced legislation today that would offer states a choice: ban texting and e-mailing while driving within two years or lose 25 percent of their federal highway money.