Ryan Fonseca

theguardian.comUS transport secretary’s war on ‘woke’ could make roads even deadlier, experts warnSean Duffy targets bike lanes and immigrant truck drivers while steering funds away from addressing lethal US roads

THREAD - Transportation experts are raising concerns that Sean Duffy's Department of Transportation is ignoring decades of science-based evidence about road safety to put a car-obsessed Maga ideology in the driver’s seat. My latest reporting for The Guardian:

ktla.comAutomated speed cameras begin operating across Los AngelesLos Angeles drivers will be monitored beginning Monday as the city’s first set of automated speed cameras goes live. The cameras are located throughout Los Angeles, including school zones and…

17h

Speed cameras are now up and snapping in Los Angeles, though speeding drivers will only get warnings for the first 60 days of operation. These are a long time coming in L.A. Back in 2023, Gavin Newsom signed a bill allowing several CA cities to run five-year pilot programs.

Another example of the need for better framing when covering traffic violence, especially when a Tesla is involved. The driver told authorities his car’s “self-driving” feature was activated. That hasn’t been verified by CHP, yet the headline runs with the driver’s version of the event. 1/

dmv.ca.govTesla Takes Corrective Action to Avoid DMV Suspension - California DMVFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFebruary 17, 2026 What you need to know: In December 2025, the California DMV found Tesla Motors in...

Collisions like these warrant a closer look at how Tesla markets its "self-driving" feature. ICYMI, Tesla was nearly suspended by the CA DMV earlier this year for "misleading" consumers about the capabilities of its system. 3/

That compelled Tesla to rename the feature "Full Self-Driving (Supervised)". The vehicle owner's manual now comes with these warnings. 4/

kmph.comCHP: Tesla driver says he fell asleep in Full Self-Driving before hitting CHP cruiserTwo Solano County CHP officers are seriously hurt after a Tesla driver who fell asleep behind the wheel slammed into a patrol car, CHP saidThe crash happened on

Maybe investigators will determine this driver is not at fault. But telling readers a person was killed by a “self-driving” car obscures his presence behind the wheel. It also misses some important context about the dangerous behavior we're seeing from some Tesla drivers. 2/

It's a choice (a bad one) to tell readers this driver "passed too close to cyclists" when there's video evidence showing he drove his car into them, made contact and hurt someone. Fellow journalists: we can explore the nuances of punishment for drivers without obfuscating their dangerous behavior.

wvlt.tvMan charged with aggravated assault after video shows driver hit cyclists on roadwayA driver is accused of hitting two members of a 10-person cycling group before fleeing the scene in Georgia.

Here's local reporting from April after the driver was initially charged www.wvlt.tv/2026/04/28/m...

lamaterial.comPoster Child of L.A. Voter Fraud Bust Is Registered RepublicanFeds arrested more registered Republicans than Democrats in Monday’s voter fraud sweep in L.A., according to an L.A. Material review of voting records.

"of the 12 people who prosecutors allege were illegally registered to vote in L.A. County, just one is a registered Democrat. Among the others, five are listed as no party preference, two are Republicans, and one belongs to the socialist Peace and Freedom Party."

theguardian.comNew details emerge on two killed after woman drove through Kansas soccer gameA boy, six, and woman, 35, were killed and 10 were injured after a woman drove on to the field at a youth soccer game

"A 34-year-old woman from Garden City, Kansas, who was at the wheel of the Chevrolet pickup truck at the center of the case, was released without charges by the Wichita police department on Sunday, pending further investigation and toxicology tests."

lamaterial.comNew White House Press Secretary is SoCal Traffic ScofflawKatie Zacharia has been cited three times in L.A. and Ventura counties since 2023 — twice for driving on her phone.

The same day Katie Zacharia "was denouncing reckless drivers on L.A. streets, she was due to complete traffic school for the latest of multiple distracted-driving infractions that she has racked up across Southern California." Read on @lamaterial.com 👇

techcrunch.comTesla reveals SpaceX-powered Roadster that flies and falls with style | TechCrunchThe new car used thrusters to leap over a Cybercab, Cybertruck, Tesla Semi, Model Y, and Model 3 at a demo in Texas.

Elon Musk unveiled a new Tesla model equipped with rocket thrusters he claims "will be the actual car that’s on the roads." "Safety is not the main goal" of these vehicles, Musk said on a podcast earlier this year. I'm curious if his planned rollout will face any scrutiny from USDOT + NHTSA.

nyc.govTraffic Deaths Reach All-time Low: New York Ends Year With Fewest Fatalities Ever Recorded

And New York City last year marked the lowest death toll since it began keeping records in 1910, citing the city’s “dramatic expansion of protected bike lanes and newly pedestrianized space”, along with automated speed cameras, improved bus transit and focused police enforcement.

You can read more about Sean Duffy's approach to US road safety in my article: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Meanwhile, the safety measures USDOT has deleted from public view are being cited as effective at reducing crashes and saving lives in communities big and small across the US.

nypost.comFrank Sinatra’s NJ hometown sees traffic fatalities vanish thanks to political will, smart design“We fully committed to updating our infrastructure, and it not only saved lives but made our streets much easier to navigate, whether you’re walking your kids to school or biking to wor…

Hoboken, a New Jersey city with about 60,000 residents, has not had a single person die in a crash on its streets in more than nine years after adding bike lanes, reducing space for cars and lowering speed limits on their local streets.

cdc.govPedestrian and Overall Road Traffic Crash Deaths ...This report describes traffic-related deaths rates in the ...

A recent CDC study found that total and per capita road deaths in the US exceed those in 27 other high-income countries, including Canada, Japan, the UK, France, and Germany. In 2022, more than 42,500 people were killed in crashes in the US — more deaths than in the other 27 countries combined.

For Zipper, Duffy is undermining DOT’s credibility with his "Maga idea of freedom." “[It’s] all about: ‘Don’t tell me what to do. Whatever I want to do in my car, however I want to drive it or whatever kind of car I want to drive, the government and nobody else can get in the way of it.’”

Duffy has been trotting out figures to justify his approach. The department claims that traffic deaths “fell to record lows in 2025”, though the agency’s own historical data contradicts that. cdan.dot.gov/tsftables/Fa...

cdan.dot.govcdan.dot.gov

Officials also touted the “second-lowest traffic fatality rate in recorded history at 1.10 fatalities per 100m vehicle miles traveled”. But transportation scholar David Zipper (@davidzipper.bsky.social), argues that deaths per capita (100K residents) provides the full scope of public risk.

“I think it’s just par for the course in looking at immigrants as a bogeyman”, said Jesus Barajas, an associate professor in the environmental science and policy department at University of California, Davis.

Barbara McCann, who worked on road safety policy at USDOT for more than a decade, views Duffy's moves against bike lanes and immigrants as "a classic feature of the autocratic playbook." “They pick scapegoats and go after them," she told me. "That has absolutely nothing to do with safety."

theguardian.comTruck drivers say ‘racism’ behind Trump administration’s license restrictions on immigrantsRule prevents many immigrant truckers from renewing driver’s license – even if they’ve driven legally for years

DOT recently issued a new rule that disqualifies truck drivers without US citizenship or permanent residency from getting or renewing their licenses. Critics say the effort has racist undertones and is guided by the administration’s nationwide immigration crackdown, not by data-based safety goals.

To justify Duffy’s new road rules, department officials cited 17 fatal crashes in 2025 they claim were “caused by actions of non-domiciled CDL holders whose fitness could not be ensured”. Those collisions resulted in 30 deaths, 0.08% of USDOT’s estimated road deaths last year.

theguardian.comSean Duffy’s family road-trip reality series: we watched it – will anyone else?Trump transport chief’s YouTube show vowed to ‘celebrate America’s story’ – it’s debatable whether it celebrates anything besides the Duffys themselves

USDOT estimates that 36,640 people died in traffic crashes in 2025. Duffy, a reality TV star turned politician turned loyal Trump cabinet member who also daylights as a reality TV star, vowed that his agency is “committed to making our roadways safer and bringing down the number of fatalities”.

But DOT has also limited funding for speed camera and pedestrian safety projects as Duffy bashes bike infrastructure as “crap” and “DEI pet projects”. At the same time, the secretary's most publicized campaign framed as a safety strategy is his targeting of foreign-born truck drivers.

The Federal Highway Administration recently deleted several "Proven Safety Countermeasures" from its website, claiming they are under review. Those include bike lanes, road diets and speed cameras, which FHWA had deemed "effective in reducing roadway fatalities and serious injuries".

A spokesperson said USDOT is "taking a closer look because the Trump Administration supports transportation systems that benefit Americans, including the nearly 80% who rely on cars to get where they need to go". I asked for clarity on the review process, but officials declined to comment further.

latimes.comNewsom signs landmark bill aimed at giving lifeline to struggling California newsroomsAssembly Bill 2222 will create refundable tax credits for California local news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ.

Big local news news 🗞️

Ryan Fonseca reposted

Guardian US

@us.theguardian.com

A record hot summer collided unhappily with rising energy costs for households across the US that struggled to the point where many were disconnected from their electricity supply, even as dangerous heat baked their communities.

latimes.comL.A. struggling to get Olympics transit money from SacramentoL.A. Metro asked the Legislature for $379 million for Olympics-related capital projects, and got just $20 million.

Los Angeles leaders initially hyped up the 2028 Olympics as "no-car Games", then walked that back to "car-light" / "transit-first." Now local transit officials are pleading for more funds from both the Democrat-controlled state legislature and the Trump administration.

Exclusive reporting today from each of the news outlets that the president says are now banned from the White House. (Links below)

www.ms.now/news/top-doj...

ms.nowTop DOJ official warned that prosecutors would be fired for not pursuing alleged voter fraud, according to sourcesIn a conference call among senior officials came a directive to prosecutors: Go after election fraud cases presented to them or risk termination. The Justice Department denies a threat was made.

www.politico.com/news/2026/09...

politico.comHill investigates after F-35 parts diverted to Hong KongThe incident raises the possibility that top secret weapons technology may have been exposed to a foreign adversary — including China.

Exclusive reporting today from each of the news outlets that the president says are now banned from the White House. (Links below)

www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/p...

cnn.comExclusive: US military had close call after using AI for false intelligence report, sources say | CNN PoliticsThe episode shows the risks of using this new, relatively poorly understood technology in the middle of the Iran war

ktla.comDriver involved in deadly collision with Metro bus identified, arrested for murderThe driver of an SUV that slammed into a Metro bus in Chatsworth on Tuesday, killing two people, is being arrested for murder. Los Angeles Police Department Media Relations Officer Lee confir…

16 Sept

A SUV driver who struck an LA Metro bus, killing two riders, has been arrested for murder. That's a rarity in the aftermath of fatal crashes. Not an official charge yet, but that decision will likely be influenced by the heavy public attention on the fatal news helicopter crash that followed.

nbcnews.com3 dead after news helicopter crashes while covering fatal L.A. bus collisionThe aircraft was an NBC Los Angeles news chopper, the station reported. A fire captain said at least one of the deceased was on the ground at the time of the crash.

16 Sept

Horrifying events in Chatsworth tonight. Thinking about the newsroom at NBC4 and my fellow journalists across Los Angeles. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...

Ryan Fonseca reposted

404 Media

@404media.co

14 Sept

The EFF found cops writing “idiot,” “WEIRD KID,” "blah," "leave me alone," and button mashing in Flock's 'reason' box.

404media.coCops Search Thousands of Flock Cameras for Reasons of ‘LMAO,’ ‘IDK,’ ‘Hehe,’ and ‘asdfg’The EFF found cops writing “idiot,” “WEIRD KID,” "blah," "leave me alone," and button mashing in Flock's 'reason' box.

6 Sept

AI sloppiness aside, notice the text that says this look the president is promoting for US Space Force was "inspired by" the uniforms from Starship Troopers — a film that smacks you in the face its entire runtime as an overt satire of fascism.

latimes.comContributor: Sacramento's micromanaging of a single lane in the Hollywood HillsImagine what this precedent buys next. A billionaire who dislikes the housing project down the block. A millionaire who wants a bus lane gone, a park redesigned, a public street bent to private will.

4 Sept

"The cemeteries have enough customers. Sacramento shouldn’t pass a law that sends them more." @michaelschneider.com on the fight over safety upgrades to a roughly one-mile stretch of LA's Forest Lawn Drive.

theonion.comGoogle Maps Introduces Crawling Directions For Cyclists Hit By TruckMOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—Touting the new feature as yet another innovation to help every traveler get where they’re going, Google Maps on Thursday began offering crawling directions for cyclists who have bee...

3 Sept

Today in barely The Onion

theguardian.comMapQuest app reaches No 1 on US Apple list after defying Trump’s Lake Ontario orderNavigating app surpasses Google and Apple Maps on top-downloaded US chart after posting ‘we’re not changing it’

1 Sept

Get serious though. Fire up the printers and hold those warm step-by-step directions in your hands. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

reuters.comUS to announce sharply lower vehicle fuel economy requirementsThe Trump administration will soon announce sharply lower vehicle fuel-economy standards, reversing ‌a push by the prior administration to force automakers to build more fuel-efficient vehicles, Tr...

31 Aug

Duffy: "...we want Detroit to build cars that ⁠Americans want to buy — not cars that Democrats want ⁠Washington to build." Wondering if most Americans want to buy cars that require them to fill up with gas more often?

nytimes.comSean Duffy’s Reality Show: From ‘The Real World’ to the Deal World“The Great American Road Trip” sends the transportation secretary and his family on a wholesome, dull tour, with a lot of help from their sponsors.

27 Aug

"This is what happens when people stop being contrite and start cutting deals ... 'Road Trip' is mostly about watching a Cabinet member Kardashianize his family while vacationing on the corporate dime, as the price of gas and nearly everything else has skyrocketed."

21 Aug

NY week treating me right

14 Aug

Worth noting that LA has mostly stopped broader street repaving, which some safety advocates say is being done to avoid triggering legally required enhancement work, including bike lanes and improved pedestrian infrastructure. An estimated 290 people were killed in crashes on LA streets last year.

Mayor Karen Bass@mayor.lacity.gov

Simone Boyce we got you! Spot a pothole on your street? Send it our way. Report it to 311, through the MyLA311 app or at lacity.gov/myla311.

Ryan Fonseca reposted

Alissa Walker

@awalkerinla.bsky.social

13 Aug

One major criticism of LA28 I hear a lot is that this LA nonprofit doesn't seem to be prioritizing the people of LA. Now we have proof, thanks to this quite notable shift in LA28's mission statement, as shown on its 990s from 2023 to 2024. Hmmm, I wonder what could have happened that year?

13 Aug

One personal side effect of reporting on e-motorcycles is I'm now getting ads for them e v e r y w h e r e 🫠

theguardian.comAre teens on ebikes the ‘new Hells Angels’? Not so fast, boomersExperts say better regulation is needed but that bad press about ‘motorized menaces’ puts the ebike revolution at risk

13 Aug

Back with some writing about what the media coverage and discourse over teens on street-illegal electric motorcycles gets wrong, including often lumping them in with street-legal e-bikes. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...