Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurers’ Backing Sought for Car Key That Jams Teen Drivers’ Cell Phones
Dec 12 2008 // University of Utah researchers have developed an automobile ignition key that prevents teenagers from talking on cell phones or sending text messages while driving. The inventors are hoping the insurance industry will back...
90 Year Old Driving Instructor in North Carolina Holds Last Class
Dec 12 2008 // Cars change. Roads change. So do drivers. Dick Conover of Emerald Isle spent more than 20 years helping drivers 55 and older recognize and adjust to these changes. He retired in early December as an instructor of...
Mich. Senate Votes to Require Ignition Devises in Drunk Driving Cases
Dec 12 2008 // Michigan is looking to get tougher on drunken drivers. Legislation approved late Dec. 10 by the state Senate would require drivers with a high blood-alcohol content of 0.15 or more to install an ignition interlock device...
Truck Drivers Teach West Virginia Teens About Road Safety
Dec 9 2008 // Professional truck drivers will be in West Virginia this week demonstrating to teens how to avoid accidents with tractor-trailers. Share the Road is an outreach program of the American Trucking Association that educates...
Bus Driver Injured after Crash with Wild Turkey
Dec 8 2008 // Connecticut State police say the driver of a passenger bus is recovering from injuries after a collision with a wild turkey in Southington. The turkey and the Vermont Greyhound bus collided on Interstate 84 westbound on...
New Federal Safety Rules Target Medically Unfit Truck, Bus Drivers
Dec 4 2008 // Federal safety regulators have begun taking steps to get medically unfit truck drivers and bus operators off the road. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says it will require states to merge commerical truck...
Connecticut Family Reaches $2.3M Settlement in Drunken Driving Case
Dec 4 2008 // The estate of a Greenwich, Connecticut teenager killed in a drunken driving accident in 2005 has been awarded $2.3 million in a settlement reached in Superior Court in Bridgeport. Court records show the lawsuit was brought...
Rhode Island Senate Proposes Crack Down on Drunken Driving
Dec 4 2008 // A Rhode Island state senator says he will introduce three bills in response to a federal report that said the Ocean State is not doing enough to crack down on drunken driving. The National Transportation Safety Board...
Feds: Rhode Island Not Doing Enough to Fight Drunk Driving
Dec 2 2008 // Federal transportation officials say Rhode Island’s efforts to curb drunken driving are falling short. The National Transportation Safety Board this week said that the Ocean State is one of bottom three states in the...
New Restrictions for Maine Drivers
Nov 30 2008 // The second of two Maine laws adopted in April to tighten regulations for getting a driver’s license has gone into effect. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap says the new law requires license applicants to show...
New Restrictions for Maine Drivers
Nov 30 2008 // The second of two Maine laws adopted in April to tighten regulations for getting a driver’s license has gone into effect. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap says the new law requires applicants to show they’re...
Vermont Readies New Driver’s Licenses to Ease Border Crossing to Canada
Nov 26 2008 // Vermont is getting ready to issue its first enhanced driver’s licenses, which will allow holders to cross the United States-Canada border without a passport or other supporting documents. State Motor Vehicle...
Delaware Safety Officials End Campaign Against Agressive Driving
Nov 18 2008 // The Delaware Office of Highway Safety has ended its 2008 Stop Aggressive Driving campaign. Statistics show 2,737 drivers were cited for speeding since the campaign began in July. Delaware police agencies made 26 arrests...
New Restrictions in Effect for Maine Driver’s License Applicants
Nov 17 2008 // The second of two state laws adopted in April to tighten regulations for getting a driver’s license goes into effect today in Maine. Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap called a news conference Friday to raise...
Ex-Rhode Island DMV Clerk Guilty of Making Fake Drivers Licenses
Nov 14 2008 // A former clerk at the Rhode Island Division of Motor Vehicles has been convicted of making fake drivers’ licenses that were sold to illegal immigrants and criminals. A federal jury deliberated for about 90 minutes on...
New Restrictions Possible for New Jersey Teen Drivers
Nov 11 2008 // New drivers would have to practice for a year before getting their licenses and would be required to display hang tags on their vehicles identifying them as provisional drivers under a package of bills that gets its first...
Crash Victim’s Widow Sues New Jersey Truck Driver
Nov 10 2008 // A Vermont woman whose husband died when a tractor-trailer slammed into two vehicles is suing the driver for negligence. Forty-two-year-old Kenneth A. Middlebusher, of Deptford, N.J., is charged with gross negligent...
Jury Awards $5M to Woman Who Lost Arm in Drunk Driving Accident
Nov 10 2008 // The 99 Restaurant chain has been ordered to pay $5 million to a Quincy, Massachusetts woman who lost in her arm in a drunk driving accident. The Essex Superior Court jury on Thursday found that the chain’s North...
Kan. Insurers That Cover Drivers With Foreign Licenses Spark Debate
Nov 4 2008 // While some immigrants may not be able to get a driver’s license in Kansas, they can get car insurance. The Wichita Eagle reported on Nov. 2 that at least two insurance companies in the state offer policies to...
New Hampshire Police Chief-Lawmaker Wants Tougher Drunk Driving Law
Nov 3 2008 // A New Hampshire state lawmaker who also works as a police chief wants to make it illegal for suspected drunken drivers to refuse to take breath tests. Dalton Police Chief John Tholl, a Republican, believes the current...
