Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

By 2020 You’ll Need a ‘Verified’ Drivers License If You Want It for ID Before a Flight: Cameron on Transportation

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Something like 1.73 million Americans board airplanes every day. Each of them must go through a very necessary screening by the Transportation Security Agency. But beginning in late January, a lot of passengers will be denied boarding because they don’t have the right kind of identification. You can thank (or blame) the Real ID Act passed by Congress in 2005 after 9/11 to make sure people are who they claim to be. As any teen can tell you, it’s too easy to obtain a fake ID.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Services with a Human Touch Can Help Seniors with Transportation Challenges

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None of us is getting any younger.  Which is why we should all start thinking now about the challenges that seniors face when it comes to “getting there.”

That’s one of the top priorities of the SWCAA, the Southwest Connecticut Agency on Aging.  Because, to maintain an independent life, seniors need to be able to get from their homes to doctors appointments, social engagements and even volunteer work. And their care-givers need to be able to get to their clients’ homes. In the SWCAA region (Greenwich to Stratford) 20 percent of all residents are over age 60.  By 2020 that proportion will be 25 percent. And with aging come issues of vision and cognition, especially behind the wheel. Giving up your private car is a much-feared rite of passage for seniors, usually prompted by coaxing from their kids who start noticing dented fenders.  The DMV has no mandatory retirement age for driving, though if you accumulate enough points on your license you may need re-testing.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Who’s Watching You in Your Car? The Authorities: Cameron on Transportation

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“Here in my car, I feel safest of all

I can lock all my doors. It’s the only way to live, in cars.”

— “Cars”, Gary Numan  1979

You may feel that your car is your last private refuge in this busy world.  But there’s someone along for the ride:  Big Brother.  And you’d be surprised what he knows about you, thanks to modern technology. CELL PHONES:   Your cell phone is constantly transmitting its location, and services like Google Dashboard’s location history can show exactly where you were at any date in time.  Don’t want to be tracked?  Turn off your cellphone. E-ZPASS:   Even when you are nowhere near a toll booth, E-ZPass detectors can monitor your location.   Want to stay anonymous? Keep your E-ZPass wrapped in aluminum foil in your glove box.

Opinion
Post Road Paving Repaving 2017

How Connecticut Repaves Its Roads: Cameron on Transportation

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Tired of driving on potholed roads? Who isn’t? We may not (yet) have tolls, but the terrible condition of our highways takes its toll on our vehicles with bent rims, alignments and other repairs. There are more than 10,000 lane miles of state highways in Connecticut, of which only 300 are repaved each year. But that work involves more than just slapping a new layer of asphalt on those roads.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

One of the Slipperiest Substances Known to Man or Computers on the Train Tracks: Cameron on Transportation

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What is more beautiful than fall in New England? The autumn leaves make even the most mundane daily commute seem idyllic — unless you’re taking the train. Yes, it’s time for our annual battle against “slip slide,” that dangerous rail condition caused by wet leaves on our tracks. Mind you, this is no small problem. In past years as many as 50 or 60 trains a week were delayed by the issue when sloppy, wet leaves turned steel rails into the railroad equivalent of a skating rink.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Big Transportation Improvements? CT Needs To Play Budget Catchup First: Cameron on Transportation

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“Why don’t they build a monorail down the middle of I-95?”

So began the latest in a series of well-intentioned emails I regularly receive from readers, anxious to offer what seem like smart solutions to our transportation crisis in Connecticut. Why no monorail? Because we don’t have the money. So let me ask — and answer — a few questions:

Why do we issue 20-year bonds to pay for highway repaving that, at best, will last 15 years? 

Why does 40 percent of the state’s Department of Transportation’s annual budget pay for debt service on old bonds instead of buying new trains? Because we don’t have the money.

Opinion
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New State Budget ‘Castrates’ CT-N, Connecticut’s CSPAN-like Cable Channel

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As our state lawmakers wrench their shoulders, patting themselves on the back for finally writing a budget (four months late), let’s stop for a moment. Put down the champagne and let’s ask ourselves: What really happened here? The past months of budget negotiations may have been bi-partisan, but they have been far from transparent. This budget was baked by a handful of politicians, far from public view. Not even Gov. Dannel Malloy was clued in on the details.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Despite Problems, Catenary Wires Beat Third Rails for Metro-North: Cameron on Transportation

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There is hardly a season that goes by without Metro-North service disrupted by a “wires down” accident. That’s when the overhead catenary that powers the trains breaks or is ripped from its poles, cutting electricity and service — ruining the commute for thousands. But why do we rely on such fragile wires, some of them installed 100 years ago? Isn’t there a better way of powering our trains? Probably not.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Long Haul Trucking’s Bedbuggers, Chowder, Suicide Jockeys, Robots and More: Cameron on Transportation

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Why do most motorists hate truck drivers? Is it because their big rigs are so intimidating? Or do we think they’re all red-neck cowboys, living the life on the range and we’re secretly jealous? I respect truckers and think, for the most part, they are much better drivers than the rest of us. They have stiffer licensing requirements, better safety monitoring and much more experience behind the wheel.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Death at RR Crossings: Publicity Needed, But State Didn’t Apply for Grant: Cameron on Transportation

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Nationally, more than 400 people are killed by trains each year, most at grade-crossings where highways go over railroad tracks. According to the Federal Railroad Administration “ the average victim is most often a 38-year-old Caucasian male under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, with a median household income of $36,000. More than 25 percent did not graduate from high school, and 18 percent were determined to be suicides.” In Connecticut last year the FRA says there were six deaths on the tracks, most of them involving Amtrak trains, but some by Metro-North.  The question is: were they preventable? When I started researching this story nobody wanted to talk to me.  The railroads told me that writing about suicides just provoked others to take their lives, even referring me to a psychologist who has studied this issue, Dr. Scott Gabree at the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center.  He also tried to dissuade me from writing about this.  The less people wanted to talk, the more interested I became.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

Think Air Travel’s Crazy? You Don’t Know the Half of It: Cameron on Transportation

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Have you ever wondered if airlines are telling you the truth about the safety of air travel? I have. Here’s a look at some areas that you might think twice about the next time you board a plane:

Seating

Why do seats face forward in the plane? Is it because we like to watch what’s going on in first class? Actually, research shows rear-facing seats are much safer in an emergency.

Opinion
Jim Cameron Jim Cameron 8-2-16

If You’ve Never Taken a Long Distance Train, You’re Missing Out: Cameron on Transportation

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How did you spend your summer vacation? Probably by traveling, but hopefully without the disruptions my wife and I experienced. In August we flew to Chicago and drove to Wisconsin. That journey was relatively on time. But the return trip became an adventure when our return flight from O’Hare airport was delayed five hours, and then cancelled, due to bad weather.