Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com Autoblog http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.autoblog.com/media/feedlogo.gif Autoblog http://www.autoblog.com en-us Copyright 2013 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[DOT sued over legality of digital billboards [w/poll]]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/24/dot-sued-over-legality-of-digital-billboards-w-poll/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/24/dot-sued-over-legality-of-digital-billboards-w-poll/http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/24/dot-sued-over-legality-of-digital-billboards-w-poll/#commentsFiled under: , ,

digital billboard

Tired of seeing those bright, digital billboards on the side of the road while driving (especially at night)? Well so is a group called Scenic America that recently filed a lawsuit in an attempt to get the Federal Highway Administration to reverse a 2007 ruling that allowed these billboards to pop up along US roadways since. The advantage of digital billboards is that companies can sell multiple advertisements that change frequently, and it's this part of the billboards that are at the heart of this debate.

According to an article in Ad Week, Scenic America contends that the FHWA (a division of the US Department of Transportation) issued a "guidance memorandum" that circumvented the usual chain of law allowing "intermittent" messages, which was a part of the Highway Beautification Act. On the opposite side of the argument, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America said that digital billboards follow the rules since there is no flashing or animation involved.

What do you think about digital billboards? Let us know in the poll below.

View Poll

DOT sued over legality of digital billboards [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 24 Jan 2013 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>billboardsdigital billboardsfederal highway administrationscenic americaus department of transportationThu, 24 Jan 2013 19:20:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20438029/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2013/01/24/dot-sued-over-legality-of-digital-billboards-w-poll/20438029/article-detail.xml 20438029 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/01/digital-billboard_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2013/01/digital-billboard.jpg <![CDATA[States asking Congress for the right to add toll roads to close budget gaps]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/30/states-asking-congress-for-the-right-to-add-toll-roads-to-close/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/30/states-asking-congress-for-the-right-to-add-toll-roads-to-close/http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/30/states-asking-congress-for-the-right-to-add-toll-roads-to-close/#commentsFiled under: ,

Toll road

Governments need to pay for things, and when traditional sources of revenue decline, other sources are found. To deal with the urgent needs of the highway infrastructure system and, if possible, add capacity, states need a lot more money than they currently have. Unable to get more from Congress, since Congress remains opposed to raising the gas tax, states are asking for the right to skip the gas-pump middleman and go straight to your wallet in the form of toll roads.

Beyond the recession, the reasons for busted highway and infrastructure budgets are manifold, from people driving less - and so less collected in gas taxes, to more fuel efficient cars - requiring less gas and so again, less in gas taxes, to roads and bridges that cost more to construct. A Congressional commission wrote that the U.S. needs to spend $137 billion more every single year to keep up with infrastructure needs; meanwhile less money is flowing to coffers and the federal highway fund is expected to be run down to zero in 2013.

Federal laws prohibit all but 15 states from collecting tolls on highways that receive federal funds, so states want Congress to change that provision. Trials have begun in three other states to test out tolls, including one that raises the toll until the toll lanes are sufficiently cleared, in order to keep the paying lanes from becoming congested as is known to happen regularly in some systems. But getting nationwide approval is a long way off. Oversight of a greatly expanded tolling industry would need to be sorted; the federal government already has questions about how state's latitude in spending toll revenue - for the specific toll road or general transportation needs, for instance - and where tolls might be placed, since "states also have a history of slapping tolls on roads traveled by a large share of out-of-state motorists."

On the other side, tolling agencies operate in more mysterious circumstances than many are comfortable with. Private companies and public-private partnerships aren't bound by the disclosure requirements of pure government agencies, which can lead to seemingly capricious toll hikes, huge sums of money going where it isn't meant and after-the-fact finger pointing that doesn't help toll-paying motorists. Not that any of that will change what's ultimately coming: it costs more to ply the nation's roads, and there's no doubt we're going to more pay for it. Somehow.

States asking Congress for the right to add toll roads to close budget gaps originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 May 2012 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>congressFederal Highway Administrationgas taxhighwayinfrastructureinfrastructure costsinfrastructure spendingtoll roadWed, 30 May 2012 08:30:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20245066/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2012/05/30/states-asking-congress-for-the-right-to-add-toll-roads-to-close/20245066/article-detail.xml 20245066 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/05/toll-road_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2012/05/toll-road.jpg <![CDATA[Americans driving less, log fewest miles since 2004]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/08/26/americans-driving-less-log-fewest-miles-since-2004/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/08/26/americans-driving-less-log-fewest-miles-since-2004/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/08/26/americans-driving-less-log-fewest-miles-since-2004/#commentsFiled under: ,

highway supertanker

The price of a gallon of gasoline has been a major downer so far in 2011, and data shows that it may be affecting driving habits. According to The Detroit News, the Federal Highway Administration claims that Americans drove 1.453 trillion miles in the first half of 2011. That's down 1.1 percent compared to the first six months of 2010, or an eye-popping 15.5 billion fewer miles compared to the first half of last year. In fact, the government report shows that total miles are down to the lowest level since 2004.

Traffic was down on both rural and urban roads during that time span, though the greater drop occurred outside our nation's cities. Rural roads dropped by 1.7 percent, while urban roads declined by only one percent.

There is no telling if economic woes and pricey petrol will continue to keep Americans out of their vehicles in the second half of 2011, but it's a solid bet that we'll fall short of the 3 trillion miles traveled in 2010.

Americans driving less, log fewest miles since 2004 originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 26 Aug 2011 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>economyfederal highway administrationfuelgas pricesmiles traveledFri, 26 Aug 2011 09:59:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20026130/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/08/26/americans-driving-less-log-fewest-miles-since-2004/20026130/article-detail.xml 20026130 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/03/traffic_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/03/traffic.jpg <![CDATA[New CAFE standards will result in $65B in lost revenue for road projects]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2011/08/01/new-cafe-standards-will-result-in-65b-in-lost-revenue-for-road/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/08/01/new-cafe-standards-will-result-in-65b-in-lost-revenue-for-road/http://www.autoblog.com/2011/08/01/new-cafe-standards-will-result-in-65b-in-lost-revenue-for-road/#commentsFiled under: ,

Road Revenue TableAccording to a new study by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, new Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards that mandate cars and light trucks average 54.5 mpg by 2025 will deprive federal highway projects of more than $65 billion in revenues.

That estimation is based on the fact that at-the-pump taxes levied on fuel are by law funneled to transportation projects. With mandatory CAFE fuel mileage increases, the amount of revenue collected from gas taxes will go down, which will cut into road revenues, the report says.

Of course, there are ways of circumventing that lost income, but all that will surely play out in the coming few years. In the meantime, click past the jump to see the report for yourself. Naturally, it's worth noting that the ARTBA, based in Washington, DC, is a group that represents the interests of road and construction workers.

Continue reading New CAFE standards will result in $65B in lost revenue for road projects

New CAFE standards will result in $65B in lost revenue for road projects originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Aug 2011 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>american road and transportation builders associationartbacafecafe standardsfederal highway administrationgas taxgas taxesstudyMon, 01 Aug 2011 08:29:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/20005216/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2011/08/01/new-cafe-standards-will-result-in-65b-in-lost-revenue-for-road/20005216/article-detail.xml 20005216 http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/07/road-revenue-table_thumbnail.jpg http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2011/07/road-revenue-table.jpg <![CDATA[Midas crowns America's commuting king]]>http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/20/midas-crowns-americas-commuting-king/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/20/midas-crowns-americas-commuting-king/http://www.autoblog.com/2006/04/20/midas-crowns-americas-commuting-king/#commentsFiled under: ,

Auto repair shop chain Midas has declared Dave Givens to be the ultimate road warrior, with a daily round trip of 372 miles, earning him the America's Longest Commute award. Every day, Givens drives from his 7.5-acre ranch in Mariposa, CA to his electrical engineering job at Cisco Systems in San Jose, CA (Google Local says that it's "only" 159 miles one way, but maybe Givens takes a few trips around the block at either end because he likes to drive so much). The stated reason for this is the enjoyment he receives from living in a rural area, although we're not sure how much time is left after his seven-hour commute. All that time is spent in a 2005 Honda Accord, which already has nearly 75,000 miles on the clock after nine months of ownership.

The Federal Highway Administration says that the length of the average commute increased by about 5% from 1990 to 2000... we're thinking that Givens himself might be solely responsible for that increase.

[Sources: North Country Times; Google Local]

Midas crowns America's commuting king originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 20 Apr 2006 11:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>CommuteCommutingdrive timeDriveTimeFederal Highway AdministrationFederalHighwayAdministrationmorning driveMorningDrivePOVprivately owned vehiclespublic transportationroad warriorRoadWarriorrush hourrush-hourRushHourtrafficThu, 20 Apr 2006 11:32:00 EST http://www.autoblog.com/feed/610201/article-comments.xml http://www.autoblog.com/feed/2006/04/20/midas-crowns-americas-commuting-king/610201/article-detail.xml 610201 http://www.autoblog.com/media/2006/04/Go-Midas-logo_thumbnail.jpg http://www.autoblog.com/media/2006/04/Go-Midas-logo.JPG -1 2