Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Rhode Island House Approves Texting-while-Driving Ban
Nov 2 2009 // A proposal to ban Rhode Islanders from texting while driving is one step closer to becoming law. The state House of Representatives on Thursday approved legislation that would bar drivers from sending, writing or reading a...
Pressure Builds for More States to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving
Nov 1 2009 // The Obama administration reported that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, a striking indication of the dangers of using mobile devices...
Montana Among States to Accuse FedEx of Misclassifying Drivers
Nov 1 2009 // Three states said they plan to sue FedEx Corp., accusing the second-largest U.S. package delivery company of violating labor laws by illegally classifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees to save...
California Car Crash Ring Broken Up
Oct 30 2009 // California’s Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced that a year-long investigation by California Department of Insurance detectives has resulted in eight arrests and the dismantling of a staged automobile...
States and Cell Phone Driving Laws
Oct 27 2009 // A jurisdiction-wide ban on driving while talking on a hand-held cell phone is in place in 7 states (California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington) and the District of Columbia. California and...
3 States Accuse FedEx of Misclassifying Drivers as Independent Contractors
Oct 21 2009 // Three states said Tuesday they plan to sue FedEx Corp., accusing the second-largest U.S. package delivery company of violating labor laws by illegally classifying drivers as independent contractors rather than employees to...
Ohio County Bans Texting While Driving
Oct 21 2009 // The county that includes Akron has become the latest area in Ohio to ban text messaging while driving. The measure approved by the Summit County Council carries $150 fines for violators caught reading or sending text...
New Jersey to Penalize Drivers for Ice and Snow Left on Vehicles
Oct 20 2009 // New Jeresy Gov. Jon Corzine has signed into law a bill that requires all drivers in the state to make reasonable efforts to remove ice and snow from their vehicles. The bill allows police to stop vehicles they believe pose...
American Family Insurance and MTV Team Up for Teen Driver Series
Oct 20 2009 // Madison, Wis.-based American Family Insurance has partnered with MTV and Mindshare Entertainment to reach teenagers directly on an issue that can save their lives – the passage they must make from new, inexperienced...
Mississippi Witnessing Rise in Women Charged with Drunk Driving
Oct 19 2009 // After having drinks with friends one night, Kristina Tanner left in her car to buy someone a pack of cigarettes. On the way back, she was arrested for DUI — her second drunken-driving arrest within a...
Pressure Builds for More States to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving
Oct 19 2009 // Opening a Sept. 30 government meeting on auto safety, the Obama administration reported that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, a...
Pressure Builds for More States to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving
Oct 19 2009 // The Obama administration reported that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, a striking indication of the dangers of using mobile devices...
Georgia Parent Pushes for Teen Driver Education Funds
Oct 14 2009 // A Georgia state law adopted in 2007 that required driver’s education for all 16-year-olds also created a way to help pay for it, but only 20 percent of funds collected under the program have been appropriated for its...
Do Cell Phone Bans Change Driver Behavior?
Oct 14 2009 // Phoning while driving and texting behind the wheel are in the news. This is the highway safety issue of the moment, the subject of cartoons and, on a more serious side, the focus of legislation. A key question is whether...
Oklahoma Panel to Study Texting And Driving Rules
Oct 9 2009 // A legislative panel in Oklahoma plans to investigate the potentially dangerous practice of texting while driving. Oklahoma currently has no state law against the use of cell phones while driving, according to the Insurance...
Texas Woman Sentenced in Distracted Driving Case
Oct 7 2009 // A state district judge in Texas has sentenced a woman to 30 days in jail, 10 years probation and ordered her to pay a $10,000 fine for criminally negligent homicide in connection with a case of “distracted...
Maine Woman Cited under New Distracted Driver Law
Oct 6 2009 // A West Bath, Maine woman who crashed her vehicle into a telephone pole has been cited under the state’s new distracted driver law. The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department says Kandi Frame was talking on a...
Connecticut Now Requires Two Written Tests for Teen Drivers to Get Licenses
Oct 5 2009 // Starting this month, 16- and 17-year-olds in Connecticut who are seeking a driver’s license will need to pass two written tests. The legislature is requiring the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to administer the...
Survey: 1 Out of 5 Drivers Admits to Texting While Behind the Wheel
Oct 5 2009 // Nearly one out of five U.S. drivers surveyed has read or sent a text message while behind the wheel, even though nearly all of the respondents in an AAA survey released Sept. 25 considered such action...
Driver Distraction Costs 6,000 Lives a Year; Many Teens
Oct 1 2009 // Opening a government meeting on auto safety, the Obama administration reported Wednesday that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, a...
