Report saying blacks speed more held up -- The Washington Times

The Justice Department has blocked the release of a study of suspected racial profiling after the survey concluded that black drivers speed more often than others.

The department had asked New Jersey officials to determine whether black speeders were being stopped more often as part of a racial-profiling investigation but has put the scheduled January release on hold, questioning how researchers reached their conclusions. ...

Federal officials wanted to know whether black and Hispanic drivers were being stopped for speeding at a higher rate than white motorists and whether appreciable differences between the groups could be attributed to a difference in driving behavior.

The unpublished study, according to sources familiar with its content, found that black motorists exceeded the speed limit more often than either whites or Hispanics. ....

In December 1999, state officials [New Jersey] entered into an agreement with the Justice Department to remedy the problem.

The Pacific Institute study, which used radar guns and high-speed photography to help identify the race of drivers and targeted only those who exceeded the speed limit by more than 15 miles per hour, was part of the state's response to the Justice Department agreement.

More than 38,500 drivers were evaluated, the sources said. Among the drivers specifically identified by race, the cameras more often caught black motorists speeding.

I love government surveys. This is the second suppressed report, though I agree that questions regarding methodology must be answered. Of course, the methodology of all surveys should be questioned; see below (or archives) regarding the spotted owl.

I no longer have the link to the other survey I'm thinking of. It had to do with distracted driving, specifically the use of cell phones while driving. Since it didn't demonstrate that using the phone while driving caused horrific numbers of accidents, the report wasn't issued, in fact was dismissed by the government agency that requested it. What did it show? That lookie-loos (rubberneckers) cause accidents 5x more than people using cell phones. That women putting on their make-up while driving were some 4x more likely to get in an accident than someone using a cell phone. That eating while driving was more often a factor. That changing the radio station was more likely to be a factor in an accident. Finally, 5th down the list, were cells phones. And since that didn't support the goal, the survey was dismissed. Ah, our government impartiality (this was during the Clinton years) in action....