You may have noticed that we’ve been covering Gov. Hochul’s auto insurance scheme pretty closely. We’ve covered how Uber is fueling this battle. We’ve covered how victims of crashes will likely suffer. We’ve offered better ideas if the governor really wants to cut down on fraud and save money.
And today, we’re even letting MTA CEO Janno Lieber offer his side of the story and critique our coverage.
But through it all, we’ve never put in one handy place why we think car insurance premiums aren’t too high, but too low.
So join me for the latest episode of my new series “Old Man Vertical,” as I highlight 11 examples of driver behavior that contribute to the problem: drivers committing insurance fraud, drivers piloting massive SUVs, drivers illegally parking, drivers racking up speeding and red-light tickets, and, of course drivers who deface or cover their plates.
All on one bike ride to work. Maybe the governor should join me if she really wants to know what conditions are like on the ground:
In other news:
– Speaking of Hochul’s insurance plan, Newsday is the latest outlet to focus on Uber’s pernicious role. But Hochul claims opponents are lying about her plan. (NY Post)
– Linden Boulevard is the new Boulevard of Death. (WCBS2)
– After the Times’s wrongly headlined big scoop, everyone got in on the coverage of Mayor Mamdani’s plans for Grand Army Plaza. We pointed out that the plan is ultimately old. The Daily News and Gothamist overstated it to make it sound more radical than it is, while amNY played it straight.
– President Trump’s completely staged meet-and-greet with a DoorDash driver was just sad, especially since she likely wasn’t paid for the time she was forced to be his window dressing. (The Independent)
– Call it the Taylor Swift effect. (NY Times)
– The Joint Transit Association is back with a new video, this time on the QueensLink v. QueensWay battle.
– Our friend Jeffrey LeFrancois of the Meatpacking BID was interviewed about the World Cup permit ban. (NY1)
– U.S. Department of Transportation Sec. Sean Duffy got caught not bothering to really think about the New York Post’s latest fear-mongering about subway crime. Yes, a cop is quoted in the story as saying that congestion pricing is putting more people in the subway, but not that tolling drivers has suddenly led to an increase in crime. And the Post also wants you to believe that congestion pricing is causing there to be more homeless people in the subway (um, how many of the undomiciled people in the subway were commuting into the city by car and decided to stop driving and live in the subway to avoid a $9 toll?).
With just a glancing reference to public transit, the “New York” Times once again put the needs of car users ahead of the Public Good: Why is the Paper of Record not a stronger advocate for massive investment in public transit, which is a tool for equity? Instead, the paper consistently carries Big Car’s water by simply advocating for tweaks on a failed status quo – in this case, reducing the costs of cars. It is true that cars are a debt sentence for many Americans, but the solution is for powerful institutions, like the Times, to push public officials to fix the underlying problem: car dependency!
The “War on Cars” podcast book, “Life After Cars,” is so good that even Jalopnik reviewed it. Which reminds me: I’ll moderate a panel discussion on the book with co-writers Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon on Wednesday, May 6 at the Midtown Manhattan library (now the Stavros Niarchos branch). Get the info here.
