Transportation
Number of highly paid transit employees triples
Mike Adamick of the Contra Costa Times used salary data obtained after a legal battle to show that “the number of BART employees making at least $100,000 nearly tripled since 2000. During the same time period, overtime payments surged by 147 percent for the transit district’s highest paid employees.” The transit agency originally resisted the…
Read MoreExperts cast doubt on cause
Jason Method and James W. Prado Roberts of the Asbury Park Press raised questions in the airplane death seven years ago of a pilot who was about to buy Marlboro Airport, now the center of a massive political bribery scandal. The NTSB ruled the 1998 crash death of Lino A. Fasio an accident due to…
Read MoreAccident-victim law saves lives
Suzanne Hoholik of The Columbus Dispatch used state data to show that a 2002 Ohio law intended to direct accident victims to trauma hospitals was working as intended: “More injured people are being taken to trauma centers, and fewer are dying in small, rural hospitals. Trauma experts believe as many as 900 lives a year…
Read MoreBridge safety ratings drop despite high funding
Bruce Golding, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon and Dwight R. Worley of The Journal-News used state and federal data to show that “safety ratings for the Tappan Zee Bridge have dropped back to some of the lowest levels in a decade despite an infusion of at least $316 million.” The span is New York’s most profitable, generating about…
Read MoreDriving after losing your license not uncommon
Andy Nelesen of the Green Bay Press-Gazette used county data to show that driving after losing your license (known as OAR) isn’t uncommon: “In 2003 and 2004, more than 250 people racked up more than one OAR case in one year.” In one extreme case, a man has been arrested for driving without a license…
Read MoreD.C. subway system suffers from mismanagement
Lyndsey Layton and Jo Becker of The Washington Post obtained and reviewed documents and data on the performance of the DC-area subway system, finding that “trains break down 64 percent more often than they did three years ago, and the number of daily delays has nearly doubled since 2000. Although the vast majority of trains…
Read MoreMotor Vehicle Bureaus use varies
Michele McNeil of The Indianapolis Star used state data to show that “at least 30 motor vehicle license branches do as little business as those in the 12 small towns already scheduled to close.” In addition, the paper found that the number of cars and trucks processed by branches fluctuates wildly. “For example, the average…
Read MorePolice chases lack restrictions
Eunice Trotter, Tom Spalding and Mark Nichols of The Indianapolis Star built a database of reports on police chases, showing that “police are virtually unrestricted when they chase suspects. They pursue fleeing vehicles at high speeds and usually for traffic infractions.” One of five chases resulted in an injury or death, and state police chases…
Read MoreFormer security chief spent thousands on state issued gas card
Eric Eyre and Scott Finn of The Charleston Gazette continue their investigation of Neal Sharp, West Virginia’s former homeland security chief, reporting that “Sharp purchased gasoline with his state credit card at least 30 times on days he wasn’t working.” In all, Sharp charged $6,764 to his state-issued credit card between July 2003 and March…
Read MoreHeavy trucks wearing down roads
Pat Stith of The (Raleigh/Durham, N.C.) News & Observer reports on how the state relaxed laws to allow overweight trucks to destroy roads, while the enforcement of heavy trucks has also declined in the past five years. “… [S]tate lawmakers voted 10 times for bills that benefit trucking interests at the public expense.” Fines for…
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