November 5, 2014: Thumbs down for state fuel tax indexing; Voters approve transpo “lock boxes”; Connected engines will change everything.

Here is a look at what is happening in the world of transportation this morning:

Wisconsin voters approve an amendment to the Badger state’s constitution that prevents governors and legislators from redirecting transportation funds for other uses, according to the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.

Texans approve of shifting state oil and gas revenues to fund transportation needs, a move worth an estimated $1.7 billion extra annually for the Texas Department of Transportation, reports the Dallas Morning News.

TV station KXAN reports on the defeat of a light rail funding effort placed on the ballot in Austin, TX.

Voters in one California locale agree to a transportation sales tax of 1%, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

The Baltimore Sun notes that Maryland voters approved their own “lockbox amendment” to prevent the shifting of road and bridge repair monies to other uses.

New technologies such as autonomous vehicles will not only forever change transportation but potentially save billions in infrastructure costs, too, according to Government Technology magazine.

Massachusetts voters decided to eliminate fuel tax indexing, notes the Boston Globe, which had linked state taxes on diesel and gasoline to the consumer price index or CPI.

The Harvard Business Review says connecting vehicle engines directly to the Internet “will change everything” and points to the technology used by Daimler Trucks North America as an example.

Could another “Polar Vortex” strike this winter? A story by Ideastream indicates this is a big worry for many trucking firms.

NBC News reports on how a group of college football players managed to lift a truck off a pinned crash victim in New Mexico.

LTL carriers ABF Freight and Old Dominion Freight Line both report strong earnings, according to the Journal of Commerce and Lexington Dispatch, respectively.