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E L L I O T T' S TRAVEL NOTES
Travel news, opinion and analysis

January 7, 2004

Washington Bans Cell-Phone Drivers
Drivers in the nation's capital will have to hang up their cell phones or use a handsfree device under a measure approved yesterday by District of Columbia lawmakers. The D.C. Council gave final approval to a bill banning drivers from talking on hand-held cell phones while behind the wheel. Exemptions would be made for emergency situations. Council members preliminarily approved the measure last month. Washington Post | Posted 4:20 a.m.
-- AP: D.C. has seen a "lot of near-misses" by drivers
-- Bcentral: Why we should license use of cell phones
• Powering down your phone while you're on the road could dramatically increase your chances of survival, as I observed in a recent column.Guess sometimes we need the government to help us along. | Send us your comments.

Where are the Travel Deals in 2004?
With JetBlue, Southwest and America West now offering nonstop transcontinental flights, you can expect prices to remain low-low-low throughout the year -- as low as $200 round trip in some cases, says CNN's Chris McGinnis. Best of all, most major airlines will match the low-fare carriers, so there will be plenty of cheap seats for everyone. CNN | Posted 4:25 a.m.
-- Gazette: Expect airfare "giveaways" to continue
-- Reuters: The real bargain is USA — if you pay in euros

• The proliferation of bargains is dreadful news for the beleaguered airline business, particularly the high-cost, legacy carriers that are trying to pull themselves back to profitability. We could lose two full-service airlines in 2004 here in the States if the low fares stick around. | Send us your comments.

Vans Take Top Scores in Ratings
Maybe your next rental-car should be a rental ... van. The 2004 Ford Freestar, Mercury Monterey, Nissan Quest, and the Toyota Sienna vans all earned top ratings of five stars for both the driver and right front passenger in the frontal impact crash test by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Full results are at the Safecar government site. NHTSA | Posted 4:25 a.m.

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• And finally ... the buzz on the bulletin boards is that Delta is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection. Observers believe a Chapter 11 filing is necessary to bring labor costs down (once an airline files, it can essentially void its union contracts). Either way, the effect on passengers would probably be minimal, at least in the short-term. Posted 4:30 a.m. | Send us your comments.

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