(Source: Time)

Image Courtesy: USDoD SouthCom - Heron UAV takes off @ Compala Airbase

For weeks, U.S. and Salvadoran counter-narcotics officials had been watching a boat which they suspected was ferrying drugs to and from El Salvador’s Pacific coast. But to be sure, they needed a plane that could stay aloft over the ocean, undetected, long enough to get detailed surveillance imaging. So last month the Defense Department’s Southern Command (Southcom) suggested this would be a good opportunity to help determine whether an unmanned air vehicle (UAV) being tested at El Salvador’s Comalapa Air Base might be the future of drug interdiction.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: AP via Yahoo News & CNN)

Fears of stalled commerce and travel didn’t materialize at U.S. border crossings Monday as people stayed home or were gently warned on the first day of stricter identification requirements for Americans returning from Mexico and Canada.

Traffic generally moved smoothly as those without proper identification stayed home or immigration officials let them pass through with a reminder to get a passport or other accepted ID.

Those crossing the Hidalgo-Reynosa International Bridge in South Texas described the light traffic Monday morning as normal, with cars and pedestrians facing short lines.

“There was nothing. Everything is all right,” said Yvonne Rivera, a U.S. citizen who lives in Reynosa, Mexico, and commutes to work in Texas. The 22-year-old said she got her passport in anticipation of the rule change.

There were some hiccups.

Rosario Aragon said she got into a heated, 30-minute discussion with a border agent demanding a passport for her 9-year-old girl, even though U.S. and Canadian children under the age of 16 only have to present a birth certificate.

The agent at an El Paso crossing let her through after taking her daughter’s name and warning her to get an official ID from local police.

“I’m angry because he held us up for 30 minutes,” the U.S. citizen said after she crossed into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

The new security rules for land and sea border crossings require U.S. citizens to show a passport, passport card or enhanced driver’s license, which use a microchip to store a person’s information. Some citizens may also use a trusted traveler document, which require background checks and are generally used by peoplecrossing the border regularly for business.

At the busiest passenger crossing along the northern border, the Peace Bridge between Buffalo, N.Y., andFort Erie, Ontario, traffic flowed smoothly with Customs and Border Protection officers reporting a 95 percent compliance rate with the new ID requirement. The Peace Bridge handled 8.9 million autos and 47,100 commercial buses in 2008.

Jessica Whitaker of London, Ontario, didn’t have a passport but was allowed in to the U.S. after showing her birth certificate and driver’s license. “They were very nice, very polite,” she said.

Kevin Corsaro, U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman in Buffalo, N.Y., said it’s been a “routine Monday” with officers seeing a compliance rate as high as 95 percent throughout the Buffalo field office.

“We want to see 100 percent but we know that will take some time,” he said. “We won’t refuse entry to a Canadian if their only violation is they are noncompliant today, as long as we can verify their citizenship.”

The new rules for land and sea ports under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative were supposed to have gone into effect in 2008 but were delayed a year over concerns about the impact on commerce. The requirement for re-entering the country by air went into effect in 2007.

Click here to read the entire article.

(Source: Autobloggreen & Detroit Free Press)

It seems that calls from House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) to fast track the Cash-For-Clunkers bill through the legislative process may have fallen on deaf ears. According to the Detroit Free Press, the somewhat controversial bill will be tacked on the much broader Climate Change bill that’s currently being drafted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

 Ohio Rep. Betty Sutton’s amendment made it onto the American Clean Energy and Security Act, the legislation being marked up this week by the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Approved by a vote of 50-4, the amendment provides a voucher of up to $4,500 for trading in an old, lower mile-per-gallon vehicle to purchase a new one.

The measure wouldn’t favor domestic vehicles over those made by companies based overseas but it has incentives for trucks and sport-utility vehicles which could be of particular help to American automakers. President Barack Obama and key House Democrats agreed on the provisions contained in the amendment at a recent White House meeting.

U.S. Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat and staunch advocate of domestic automakers, said the cash-for-clunkers amendment, if passed, “will result in meaningful reductions in vehicle fleet carbon emissions and fuel consumption, all while providing much-needed stimulus for our ailing automakers.”

(Source: Timesonline, UK & Autocar, UK)

A £2,000-a-car scrappage scheme aimed at kick-starting Britain’s depressed motor industry has hit trouble after a dispute between car companies and the Government over costs.

Manufacturers, including Ford and Honda, have told dealers not to register any new vehicles under the scheme, which is starting today.

Consumers are being offered £2,000 towards a new car if they trade in a motor that is at least ten years old.

The car companies said that they were seeking “clarification” from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) over “administrative” details.

The Government insisted that it had been clear on details of the scheme, under which manufacturers would pay £1,000 and the Government £1,000 towards the cost of the incentive.

However, the car manufacturers want dealers to share the cost.

The eleventh-hour hitch will come as a huge embarrassment to the Prime Minister, who had heavily promoted the “bangers for cash” scheme as the route to revitalising Britain’s depressed motor industry.

Gordon Brown and Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, visited a Nissan dealership today to talk to consumers signing up to the scheme.

Mr Brown said the £300 million project would prove “very popular” and “a great help to the British car industry.” It would help the economy to “move forward,” he said.

A BERR spokesman said: “Thirty-eight manufacturers have signed contracts with the Department which set out clearly that manufacturers provide £1,000 and the Government matches it.

“We understand several dealers are unhappy about the idea they should share the costs. The Government also needs to ensure VAT is paid in accordance with the scheme.”

Though the scheme was revealed in the Budget the final details emerged only at a meeting on Thursday, manufacturers said.

However, President of the AA Edmund King has pointed out that the £2000 incentive can be used as a deposit to help car buyers get finance. He added that the scheme would “transform the chances of survival in a crash for thousands of car owners” whose current old cars offer substantially less protection than newer models.

But Friends of the Earth executive director Andy Atkins said the scrappage scheme was “a lost opportunity”.

“A well-designed scheme could have played a limited role in cutting emissions from our roads,” he said. “But, unlike some other countries, the UK scheme doesn’t prevent motorists part-exchanging an old, small model for a brand-new gas guzzler.”

Business secretary Peter Mandelson visited a car dealership today to launch the scheme and said there has been a positive response from the industry.

“I am delighted by the response of the motor industry. Thirty-eight companies have signed up – all the major UK car manufacturers and a number of other companies. This means more choice for consumers and a boost for British brands. 



“The scheme has been met with a flood of enquiries from customers. It will provide a boost to the industry and kick-start sales.” 



The confirmed list of manufacturers who have signed up to take part are: Allied Vehicles, Bentley, BMW, Chevrolet, Citroen, Daihatsu, FIAT, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, London Taxis International, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, MG Motor, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Perodua, Peugeot, Porsche, Proton, Renault, Rolls Royce, SAAB, SECMA UK, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Vauxhall, Volkswagen, Volvo, Koelliker UK Ltd, Iveco Ltd, Chrysler and Renault Trucks UK Ltd.

As stimulus spending on highways and bridges ramps up, Senate Democrats submitted legislation Thursday that suggests the nation’s transportation policy is headed for a major overhaul, with a strong emphasis on reducing automobile use and carbon emissions and boosting public transit, inter-city rail and rail freight service.

 Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) introduced legislation that they say lays out the guidelines of what they expect the next five-year federal transportation spending plan to accomplish. Their goal is to influence the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which is responsible for drafting the spending plan. The House plan is expected in early June, and the bill is due for reauthorization this fall.  The Rockefeller-Lautenberg marker, which got some early love from the Washington Post, states that the next federal transportation bill should accomplish the following:

• Reduce national per-capita motor vehicle miles traveled on an annual basis;
• Cut national motor vehicle-related fatalities in half by 2030;
• Cut national surface transportation-generated carbon emissions by 40 percent by 2030;
• Reduce surface transportation delays per capita on an annual basis; 
• Get 20 percent more critical surface-transportation assets into a state of good repair by 2030;
• Increase the total usage of public transit, intercity passenger rail and non-motorized transport on an annual basis.

The focus for those trying to ascertain the administration’s transportation agenda has since turned to the five-year bill, which is expected to cost at least $400 billion. One big question is how the government plans to fund transportation spending, with revenue from the gas tax increasingly falling short. The new Senate bill does not address that problem.

Another big question is how much the bill will provide for public transportation. As it now stands, 80 percent of federal transportation money goes to highways. But David Goldberg, an official with the advocacy group Transportation for America, said Congress and the White House are sending signs that the new plan could represent a major break. The White House has already said it hopes to spend $1 billion per year on high-speed rail.

Minneapolis I-35 Bridge Collapse — A Major Emergency Incident: TSAG Case Studies Workshop & Webinar

Note: This workshop and webinar is a unique learning opportunity offered by the Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) and the U.S. DOT ITS Joint Program Office’s Talking Technology & Transportation (T3) webinars. The T3 Program is offered by the Joint Program Office’s ITS Professional Capacity Building Program. The workshop will be presented to both a live audience at the workshop location and to remote T3 webinar participants. T3 participants are invited to submit written questions before the webinar as well as during workshop question and answer periods.

Webinar participants may attend remotely for any portion of the 3.5 hour workshop/webinar. An audio of the event’s proceedings, synchronized with its presentations, will be available in the T3 Webinar archives approximately 4 weeks after the workshop.

Background

The Transportation Safety Advancement Group (TSAG) is facilitated and administered by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) to provide input to the US Department of Transportation (US DOT), ITS Joint Program Office’ Public Safety mission. TSAG advises the US DOT on the development and deployment ITS technologies that optimize travel mobility, safety / security, economy and environmental quality. Through its broad membership comprised of transportation and public safety professionals, TSAG initiates programs that promote inter-disciplinary, inter-agency and inter-jurisdictional coordination and cooperation, and that promote partnerships for advancing surface transportation services technologies. TSAG operates through resources provided by the US Department of Transportation and serves its program mission in compliance with US DOT regulations, policies and specified contract provisions.

I-35 Bridge Collapse Case Studies Workshop & Webinar Overview

Within a workshop setting, TSAG members and other public safety professionals review actual public safety related events or incidents for the purpose of identifying management strategies and technology-based applications and corresponding successes, failures, and lessons-learned. The June 3, 2009 Workshop will review the 2007 I-35 (MN) Bridge Collapse.

On August 1, 2007, the Interstate 35W Bridge collapsed into the Mississippi River during rush hour in the City of Minneapolis. The 1,907-foot bridge fell into the Mississippi River and onto roadways below. The span was packed with rush hour traffic, and dozens of vehicles fell with the bridge leaving scores of dazed commuters scrambling for their lives.

Case Studies Workshop presenters walk the audience through the tragic events of the day, focusing on 9-1-1 operations, Police, Fire, and EMS response, as well as the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) activation and management. Presenters will share lessons learned and highlight the performance of the Minneapolis 911 Center, of local emergency responders and of operations strategies and technologies at the time of and responding to the incident.

Target Audience

Workshop participants include TSAG members and guests. Webinar target audience includes other state and local public safety interests, including public safety managers and transportation operations, emergency communications, and emergency public safety practitioners.

Image: OpedPage.org

TSAG Case Study Workshop Concept and Objectives

The TSAG Case Studies Workshop concept targets case-studies of actual incidents or events associated with each of the eight (8) TSAG interest-community teams. Communities of Interest include: Transportation Operations, Law Enforcement, Fire and Safety, Academic & Research, Technology and Telematics, Emergency Communications, Emergency Medical Services, and Emergency Management. Workshop objectives revolve around the “technologies for public safety” TSAG mission.

Through reviews of actual recent events, incidents, and first-responder experiences, Case Studies Workshops facilitate after-event discussions by multi-discipline and multi-agency professionals for the purpose of:

• Clarifying actual circumstances of the event / incident
• Discussing established response protocols and procedures
• Reviewing public safety technology applications
• Identifying unique management and response circumstances and challenges
• Reviewing successes, failures, and lessons-leaned

Learning Objectives

The broad learning objectives of the TSAG Case Studies Workshop series include:

• Identify transportation-safety technologies and their real-time applications to actual incident identification, response and management
• Identify inter-agency and inter-discipline coordination successes and failures
• Identify technology successes, failures, and lessons-learned

Workshop/Webinar Agenda

2:00 PM ET — Opening / Webinar Ground Rules (US DOT, Volpe Center)

2:10 PM — Welcome / Introduction of Moderator (Linda Dodge)

2:15 PM — Workshop / Overview / Objectives (Moderator, Ray Fisher)

2:30 PM

• A. I-35 Bridge — The Setting
• B. Key Players / Key Interagency Coordination Protocols
• C. Key Public Safety Technology Applications

Q & A Session #1
3:30 PM

• D. The Event — Circumstances and Public Safety Actions

Q & A Session #2
4:30 PM

• E. Successes, Failures & Lessons Learned

5:00 PM

Q & A Session #3

• F. Open Discussion

5:30 PM

• G. End / Closing Remarks

(Source: Wheels Blog – New York Times)

There are bad work commutes. Then there are blood-boiling commutes that need to be vividly rehashed to unwitting co-workers, friends, anyone. Now there’s another option: The Washington-based nonprofit groupTransportation for America has launchedthis Web site as a home base for people who want (or need) to vent about their miserable trips to and from work.

(Source: USA Today & Image: Jalopnik)

As the American lawmakers are getting ready to pass the landmark “cash for clunkers” legislation, many of you are still left wondering what this legislation entails and how it will affect you.  The media chatter in the past has offered very little except that the legislation would provide federal vouchers of up to $4,500 for people to trade in their older vehicles for new ones that get better mileage.

Talk of the vouchers has kept some would-be new car and truck buyers on the sidelines, waiting to see whether they’d qualify for government help. So, for the moment, the idea is hurting sales. Based on interviews with lobbyists and congressional offices, the USA Today captured the details of this legislation in a nice Q & A format:

Image: Newsday

Q: What’s the idea behind “cash-for-clunkers”?

A: Supporters say it would replace older vehicles with new ones that use less fuel, are safer and pollute less. And it would give the struggling auto industry a sales boost.

Q: What’s the bill’s status?

A: It’s in a House committee and backed by the president. Senators from both parties are prepared to co-sponsor similar legislation as soon as this week.

Q: Sounds like a sure thing.

A: Not so. Environmental lobbyists, who don’t think it boosts fuel economy enough, might derail it or get it changed enough in the Senate that a compromise would take awhile.

Q: Any groups trying to keep it from being derailed?

A: You bet. Car companies, autoworkers, component suppliers and car dealers, among them. The House bill “will help jump-start auto sales and the U.S. economy, while also providing environmental benefits and increasing energy security,” says Ziad Ojakli, Ford Motor spokesman.

Q: What’s the price tag?

A: About $4 billion. The money is currently proposed to come from Energy Department funding included in the already enacted $787 billion economic stimulus package.

Q: If the House bill becomes law, how would it work?

A: The government would send up to $4,500 to the selling dealer on your behalf, if you:

1. Trade in a car that — this is a key point — has been registered and in use for at least a year, and has a federal combined city/highway fuel-economy rating of 18 or fewer miles per gallon.

2. Buy a new car, priced at $45,000 or less and rated at least 4 mpg better than the old one (gets a $3,500 voucher). If the new one gets at least 10 mpg better, you get the full $4,500.

Example: Trade that well-worn 1985 Chevrolet Impala V-8, rated 14 mpg, for a 2009 Impala V-8 rated 19 mpg and the government will kick in $3,500. Downsize to Chevy Cobalt (27 mpg) or even a larger Honda Accord (24 mpg) and get $4,500.

Mileage ratings back to 1985 are at www.fueleconomy.gov.

Q: What about trucks?

A: It’s more complicated.

For standard-duty models — most SUVs, vans and pickups:

1. The old one must be rated 18 mpg or less.

2. The new one must be at least 2 mpg better for $3,500 or at least 5 mpg better for $4,500.

For heavy-duties (6,000 to 8,500 pounds gross vehicle weight rating):

1. The old one must be rated 15 mpg or less.

2. The new one must be rated at least 1 mpg better for $3,500, or 2 mpg or more for $4,500.

Work trucks (8,500 to 10,000 lbs.) don’t have mpg ratings, so age is the criteria. The old one has to be a 2001 model or older. And only $3,500 is available.

Q: Is it worth it for $4,500?

A: The assumption is that the people most likely to use the program would trade in cars worth less than $4,500. Thus, while not necessarily clunkers, most would be at least 8 years old.

Q: Can I combine these incentives with other offers?

A: Yes. For instance, you could trade for a hybrid and get the voucher, claim the hybrid tax credit and get dealer or manufacturer discounts. You also could deduct the sales tax, if any, on your next federal tax return.

Q: Would I ever see the $3,500 or $4,500?

A: No. It’s an electronic transfer from the government to the dealer. Dealers want to be sure the amount can be counted as cash from the buyer, which would help buyers get credit because they’re financing less.

Q: What does the dealer do with my trade-in?

A: Gives it to a salvage operator. The engine, transmission and some other parts must be destroyed so they can’t be reused. The idea is to cull fuel-thirsty, polluting drivetrains. Operators can resell other parts, however.

Q: What’s to keep me from buying a junkyard car for a few hundred bucks, getting it barely running and trading it?

A: The one-year-in-service requirement noted earlier. Lawmakers wanted to exclude the revival of so-called junkyard dogs, because they’ve already been taken off the road.

Q: What do I get if I recently bought a car that would have qualified?

A: The bill contemplates making the incentives retroactive to March 30, but it’s unclear how to find and junk cars that were traded in that long ago. Some might already be back on the road, driven by new owners.

Q: What’s wrong with environmentalists’ idea that the new car or truck should get much better fuel economy than the House bill currently requires?

A: Opponents say the environmentalists’ fuel-economy improvement thresholds are so high that foreign brands benefit disproportionately, because their lineups tend now to have more small, fuel-efficient vehicles.

But the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy complained in a statement criticizing the House bill that the proposal as it stands now is way too lenient.

The council charged that the bill “aims primarily to clear Detroit’s unsold inventory from the storage lots,” rather than to seriously cut fuel use.

Q: How soon could this become law?

A: Depends on how much critics can sway the Senate, and to what piece of legislation this “fleet modernization” bill is attached.

If it becomes part of a larger bill that’s likely to get lots of debate, it could take awhile. If it’s attached to urgent, must-pass legislation, such as an appropriation bill, it could move quickly to the president’s desk.

A current plan is to add the program as an amendment to climate change legislation now being considered.

As proposed, it would be in effect for just one year.

(Source: Detroit Free Press & Image: Jalopnik)

WASHINGTON — Congress appeared ready Wednesday to move forward on a bill to pay people to surrender their old gas-guzzlers for new, fuel-efficient models — but the auto industry hasn’t decided what it wants out of the program.

While backers of a cash-for-clunkers plan announced a deal earlier this month, the final bill has yet to be crafted because of a last-minute dispute between foreign and domestic automakers over incentives for leasing. Environmental groups aren’t thrilled with the compromise, saying it is weighted too heavily toward truck buyers.

But with House and Senate leaders, along with President Barack Obama, voicing support, industry officials say they are hopeful a bill that will boost a lethargic market for new vehicles will get through Congress in weeks. Backers say the compromise would cost about $4 billion — paid for by money from the economic stimulus plan passed earlier this year — and could boost sales by 1.3 million vehicles over a year, according to industry officials.

Owners of cars and trucks that get less than 18 m.p.g. could get a voucher of $3,500 to $4,500 for a new vehicle, depending on the mileage of the new model, but no trade-in value because the vehicles would be scrapped.

“This is a jobs bill that helps the environment,” said Ziad Ojakli, Ford’s group vice president for governmental affairs.

The plan does have several hurdles that will keep some potential buyers on the sidelines. The clunker being traded in has to be kept off the road — meaning it will have no trade-in value beyond the voucher. Far more trucks on the road will qualify for the vouchers than cars: even 15 years ago, only five models of midsize sedans managed just 18 m.p.g.

And while the compromise among U.S. House members was unveiled earlier this month, the actual bill will be kept under wraps until it is introduced with the House Democrats’ plan to control carbon emissions through a cap-and-trade system, expected no later than Monday.

Although cash-for-clunkers programs in other nations have been motivated by environmental goals to improve the mileage of vehicles on the road, environmental groups are lukewarm about the U.S. compromise.

(Source: Autoblog)

In the event of a crash, vehicle sensors gather up information and connects an OnStar adviser to a vehicle. OnStar can then contact emergency services and provide information regarding the severity of the crash, with information about airbags deployed and type of impact. 

In the past, OnStar advisers would have to give emergency services a detailed description of the location of the accident.

Subscribers to the telematics system will benefit from new technology that will enable OnStar to electronically transmit precise longitude and longitude coordinates directly to the 911 center. Where available, the Automatic Location Identification (ALI) data display will show the authorities exactly where you’re located, with almost zero opportunity for error.

The presser had the following info: With this newest OnStar enhancement, 911 centers can automatically receive specific vehicle location information (longitude and latitude) in the 911 Automatic Location Identification (ALI) data display which may interface with a sophisticated mapping system used in many jurisdictions to expedite locating emergency victims. 

“In an emergency, accurate location is the most important piece of information to ensure that help arrives promptly at the scene,” said Cathy McCormick, Emergency and Security Service Line manager, OnStar.

In addition to providing location information, OnStar advisors continue to play an important role in providing critical crash and other emergency-related information directly to dispatchers to help them determine the most appropriate response. 

“The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials has worked with telematics providers since their inception to use the latest technology to assist public safety in saving lives,” said Chris Fischer, president, APCO International. “This technology interfaces with the systems many of our centers have in place already to expedite response.”

With OnStar’s Priority Access program, many PSAPs already receive OnStar emergency calls through an existing 911 trunk line. By routing verified emergency calls to 911 trunk lines, dispatchers will not only receive OnStar calls more quickly, they will also receive important call-related data, including OnStar’s PSAP-only callback number.