Honkin' Mad

Texas Transportation Commission days numbered?

A panel will recommend putting the Texas Department of Transportation, which has been widely criticized for planning toll roads where people don't want them and failing to keep track of its finances, under the control of a single commissioner. READ THE STORY HERE

Toll roads: A gift that keeps on giving

At the Texas Transportation Commission, transparency, trust and toll roads are the order of the day. READ MORE HERE

Tapping the brakes on toll roads, Trans-Texas Corridor

The Texas Department of Transportation will no long guarantee private toll road developers that competing free roads won't be built near toll projects. MORE HERE ...

Commuting by motorcycle: not a good start

With gas prices soaring through the roof, I decided it was time to try commuting from my home in Grand Prairie to the Star-Telegram office in Fort Worth on my new bike, a 105th anniversary edition Harley Sportster 1200. I traded a Harley 883 Sportster in for this beautiful new ride on Saturday.

But Tuesday was a freaky day that now has me wondering if someone is sending me a message.

I drove a back route, Pioneer Parkway through Arlington, cut over to Division Street, which becomes Lancaster in Fort Worth. I didn't want to jump on Interstate 20 to Highway 287 and into downtown Fort Worth. Too many crazies on the highway, especially at 6:30 a.m.

The traffic was light, but in an eye blink, I lost a contact despite wearing sunglasses. That made vision a little more difficult, although fortunately, my distance vision was OK.

I sit down to the computer and one of the first e-mails I open is about a friend and his wife who were in a horrible motorcycle accident on Memorial Day along Interstate 20. Both are lucky to be alive. From the e-mail chatter, I learned that they flew across the median on I-20, but oncoming traffic avoided hitting them.

The two are in the hospital with multiple injuries, although fortunately none life-threatening. Still, the injury list is sobering: both are missing some teeth and have broken ribs. His knee is shattered; she had surgery to remove her spleen. He will require facial-reconstruction surgery.

Both had on half-helmets. He had on jeans; she was in shorts.

Next, the rain started coming down. Hard. Great.

I don't like riding in either rain or on wet streets. The forecast said only a 30 percent chance for rain. Jeez.

Then a co-worker stops by. We talk bikes. I pass along news of the accident. He tells me about one of the first bike accidents he came across. Guy was wearing only a half-helmet, flew over the handlebars and scraped off his nose and chin -- which is why, my co-worker said, he always wears the full helmet.

I wore the half-helmet on Tuesday. On the ride home, to say the least, I was a little jumpy.

Now I have friends trying to talk me into getting rid of the new bike.

I drove the car today. Things to think about.

I'd love to hear from others who commute on motorcycles. Please post some comments.

Gary Hardee

Can anyone get 90 mpg?

Check out this VIDEO video about "hypermilers" who do everything in their power to get terrific gas mileage.

Bet this dude's commute is longer than yours

Before you question the commitment of today's youth, read about this 19-year-old quest to get to school.
READ IT HERE.

Sign a petition sayin' you're sick of traffic

The Tarrant Regional Transportation Coalition is circulating an online petition. People who live in Dallas-Fort Worth and are sick of traffic are invited to speak their minds. To view the petition, GO HERE.
TRTC will present the petition to legislators in January as evidence that more must be done to combat gridlock, auto emissions and such.

DPS needs a makeover

Think about this the next time you're getting a car inspected or renewing a driver license:

The Texas Department of Public Safety is failing to properly manage the vehicle inspection program, and the state's driver license division doesn't meet consumers' needs, according to a scathing report released Friday by a state commission.

Texans are required to have their cars inspected yearly for safety and, in major cities, for emissions. But DPS lacks the supervision to prevent the issuance of fraudulent inspection stickers, the Sunset Advisory Commission report states.

Also, the average wait time for calls to DPS' customer service phone line is 13.5 minutes, and only 35 percent of calls are completed because most people get frustrated and hang up.

The commission, a group of state lawmakers that periodically reviews state agencies to determine if they're still functioning properly, is recommending major changes at DPS. Among them:

• Run the vehicle inspection and driver license programs like a business, instead of a law enforcement function. Many civilian, consumer-related duties are still managed by an outdated, law enforcement chain of command, the report noted.

• Overhaul DPS to focus more on law enforcement duties, including highway patrol, anti-terrorism efforts, drug and gang interdiction and border security issues.

The issue is expected to be a hot topic during the 2009 legislative session, which begins in January in Austin.

READ THE REPORT HERE (114 pages)

The report notes that few state agencies touch as many lives as DPS. "Virtually every adult in the state has a driver license or identification card issued by the agency, and automobile owners must get their vehicles inspected at stations regulated by DPS," a summary of the report reads. "Because Texas ranks first among the states for frequency of tornadoes and flash floods, DPS’ emergency management efforts also impact large numbers of Texans. ... Despite its many dedicated employees, the Department’s tendency to do things 'because they’ve always been done that way,' and not carefully scrutinize operations reduces the agency’s success."

Fill 'er up, but do it OUTSIDE Fort Worth ...

Fort Worth gas prices are gonna be highest in the state this weekend, at $3.739. Check out the AAA gas watch here

Free gas? What a surreal concept!

Check out this HONKIN' MAD! video   which pays tribute to The Twilight Zone while reporting on a gas giveaway Thursday in Grand Prairie.