Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texting South Dakota Driver Pleads Not Guilty to Manslaughter
Aug 15 2012 // A 21-year-old man accused of fatally injuring a motorcyclist while he was speeding and texting has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges. Brent O’Neal was indicted by a grand jury on the traffic violations and...
Future Impact of Self-Driving Cars Would Be Big: Study
Aug 15 2012 // Consulting firm KPMG and the Center for Automotive Research in Michigan released a report this month about how close the industry is to rolling out self-driving cars. They see the first such vehicles hitting showrooms in...
Driving Toward a Future Without Humans Behind the Wheel
Aug 15 2012 // It’s been more than half a century since some of the first concept cars boasting self-driving features were presented to the world and they’re still not on the roads. But many auto executives say the industry...
N.J. Upholds Law Requiring Young Drivers’ License Decal
Aug 13 2012 // New Jersey’s top court upheld a controversial law last week that requires young drivers to purchase and display red decals on the license plate of the cars they drive. The state Supreme Court’s ruling on...
Disabled Drivers in N.Y. Pay 28% More for Auto Insurance, Study Says
Aug 13 2012 // A new study found that drivers with disabilities in New York City pay 28 percent more for their auto insurance on average compared to non-disabled individuals. The study says that vehicles modified to accommodate disabled...
Connecticut Says Tougher Teen Driving Laws Showing Positive Results
Aug 10 2012 // This month, Connecticut is observing the four-year anniversary of the state’s adoption of tougher teen driving laws. And officials say the measures continue to put in check teen driver deaths. A series of...
South Carolina Restaurant to Pay $1.1M in Drunk Driving Death
Aug 7 2012 // The parent company of a Charleston restaurant will pay $1.1 million to the family of a man killed in a drunken driving crash that authorities say was caused by one of the restaurant’s employees. Investigators said...
Insurers Win Mich. Supreme Court Case Over Rogue Drivers
Aug 3 2012 // The Michigan Supreme Court has ruled in favor of insurance companies in two cases that involve drivers who crashed cars when they didn’t have the owners’ permission to get behind the wheel. The court’s...
Idaho Police To Begin Crackdown On Aggressive Driving
Aug 2 2012 // Idaho law enforcement is getting ready to crack down on aggressive motorists. The Idaho Transportation Department is teaming up with 49 police agencies across the state on a two-week push aimed at drivers who are speeding,...
Mass. Regulators Offer Advice to Drivers Who Are at Fault in Accidents
Aug 1 2012 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance recently published a guideline for drivers who are found to be at fault in an auto accident. The guideline, in a frequently-asked-questions format, covers topics including: the...
Alabama Bans Texting While Driving Aug. 1
Jul 30 2012 // Starting Wednesday, texting, emailing and instant messaging while driving will become illegal in Alabama, with violators facing fines and possibly higher insurance rates. That is, if they don’t have a wreck...
Texting Driver in South Dakota Charged with Manslaughter
Jul 30 2012 // A man accused of fatally injuring a motorcyclist while he was speeding and texting is facing manslaughter charges in a case that could fuel efforts to ban texting while driving in South Dakota’s largest...
Costs Driving Changes, Opportunities in New World of Benefits Brokerage
Jul 24 2012 // Group health insurance brokerage is changing but the changes are not primarily due to Congress or the courts. Rather the changes are being driven by costs — the cost of healthcare coverage and the cost of serving...
Sprint Offers Usage-Based, Driver Tracking Service for Insurance Industry
Jul 23 2012 // Communications firm Sprint has begun selling driver tracking services to auto insurers. Sprint said its integrated, end-to-end usage-based insurance (UBI) services is designed specifically for the auto insurance industry....
More Gen Y’ers Passing on Driving
Jul 23 2012 // To Shoshana Gurian-Sherman, driving seemed like a huge hassle. “Part of it was laziness,” the 23-year-old Minneapolis, Minn., resident recalled. “I didn’t really want to put in the effort to learn...
Driving History Seen as Predictor of Individual’s Lifespan
Jul 23 2012 // It appears that bad drivers live shorter lives than good drivers and not just because they get in accidents. The same motor vehicle driving records already widely used to help determine car insurance pricing can also be...
Calif. Drivers Will Be Allowed to Text, With Restrictions
Jul 23 2012 // California drivers will be allowed to text when they’re behind the wheel of a car, as long as they’re using a hands-free device, and with some restrictions. Under a bill recently signed into law by Gov. Jerry...
Calif. Drivers Will Be Allowed To Text, With Restrictions
Jul 16 2012 // California drivers will be allowed to text when they’re behind the wheel of a car, as long as they’re using a hands-free device, and with some restrictions. Under a bill signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on...
N.Y. Issued 20,958 Tickets for Texting While Driving During Past Year
Jul 13 2012 // New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday marked the one year anniversary of the state’s strict law to prevent distracted driving.Gov. Cuomo says the new law has helped law enforcement authorities crack down hard on...
Malpractice Claims at Record Low, Not Driving Health Costs: Consumer Group
Jul 13 2012 // The consumer group Public Citizen says that medical malpractice payments in 2011 were at a record low and have fallen for eight straight years. The groups says this data shows that malpractice payments are not to blame for...
