Beautiful Public Data: “As we run, drive, bike, and fly, humans leave behind telltale tracks of movement on Earth—if you know where to look. Physical tracks, thermal signatures, and chemical traces can reveal where we’ve been. But another type of breadcrumb trail comes from the radio signals emitted by the cars, planes, trains, and boats… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Transportation
Huge study from The Economist about car bloat in the US
The Economist [unpaywalled]: “…For all the safety features available in cars today to help them avoid crashes, the laws of physics are cruel. When two vehicles collide, it is usually the heavier one that prevails. This advantage has changed little over time. Thirty years ago when a passenger car crashed with a pickup truck or… Continue Reading
One of the Nation’s Largest Auto Lenders Told Customers We’re Here to Help Then It Took Their Money and Their Cars
ProPublica: “…Exeter is one of the largest auto lenders in the nation, specializing in high-interest loans to people with histories of not paying bills or defaulting on debt, a practice known as subprime lending. The company, which has more than 500,000 active loans and a partnership agreement with CarMax, the country’s largest used car retailer,… Continue Reading
Traffic safety for all road users
Traffic safety for all road users: A paired comparison study of small & mid-sized U.S. cities with high/low bicycling rates – Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research Volume 2, December 2024, 10001. “Cities with high levels of bicycling tend to be some of the safest cities for all road users. This paper investigates why this… Continue Reading
Canada’s Record-breaking 2023 Wildfires
World Resources Institute – Released Nearly 4 Times More Carbon than Global Aviation– “Canada’s 2023 wildfires made international headlines, causing billions of dollars in property damage, displacing thousands of people from their homes, and spewing air pollution that traveled as far as Europe and China. A new analysis shows that the wildfires also had a… Continue Reading
Don’t trust Google for customer service numbers. It might be a scam.
Washington Post [unpaywalled]: “Scams just keep popping up when you Google. On Monday, I found what appeared to be impostors of customer service for Delta and Coinbase, the cryptocurrency company, in the “People also ask” section high up in Google. A group of people experienced in Google’s intricacies also said this week that it took… Continue Reading
FBI Releases Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019—2023
“On August 12, 2024, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program released Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019-2023, on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer at https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov. This special report provides information concerning motor vehicle theft and trends on carjacking. Incidents of motor vehicle theft included in this report are from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Participation in… Continue Reading
Texas AG Sues GM for Unlawfully Collecting Drivers’ Private Data and Selling It To Several Companies, Including Insurance Companies
“Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued General Motors for its false, deceptive, and misleading business practices related to its unlawful collection and sale of over 1.5 million Texans’ private driving data to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent. This action follows Attorney General Paxton’s June 2024 announcement that he opened an investigation into several car… Continue Reading
Popular flight-tracking app can now predict delays using machine learning
TechCrunch: “Flighty’s popular flight-tracking app can now predict delays using machine learning Popular flight-tracking app Flighty is releasing a new version on Tuesday that uses machine learning and aviation authority data to provide early warnings of delays and give users the exact reason behind delays. With the launch of Flight 4.0, the app tracks the… Continue Reading
Railroad Incidents
Data is Plural: “Since last August, the Federal Railroad Administration has been rolling out a new portal for its safety data. Through it, you can find datasets on incidents and accidents involving railroad equipment, incidents at grade crossings, and reported injuries and illnesses, as well as dashboards and reports on related topics. The grade crossing… Continue Reading
States With The Most Confrontational Drivers 2024
Forbes Advisor: “Driving in the U.S. is getting increasingly dangerous due to confrontational driving. The number of violent road rage incidents across the United States has surged over the past decade. Between 2014 and 2023, road rage shootings increased by more than 400%, from 92 to 481, according to an analysis of data from the… Continue Reading
The Quiet Power of Car-Free Neighborhoods
Bloomberg: Restricting or banning vehicles in congested city centers pays off with cleaner air and safer streets. “We need to talk more about the other big benefit — less noise. Although still rare in North America, car-free and car-light neighborhoods have grown common in Europe, established in cities like Paris, Brussels and Pontevedra, Spain. Boosters… Continue Reading
