Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Auto Deaths Decline in 40 States; Less Driving, More Seat Belt Use Cited
Feb 6 2009 // Automobile fatalities declined in 40 states in 2008, according to a survey of state highway safety agencies, an early sign that traffic deaths could dip to their lowest levels in four decades. The Governors Highway Safety...
Indiana House Panel Advances Ban on Drivers’ Cell Phone Use
Feb 5 2009 // Drivers in Indiana could not use handheld cell phones or texting devices under legislation endorsed by a state House committee. The House Public Policy Committee approved the bill by Democratic Rep. Vanessa Summers of...
Those Dashed Lines on Roads Are Longer Than Drivers Think
Feb 4 2009 // Take a guess — how long are the dashed lines that are painted down the middle of a road? If you’re like most people, you answered, “Two feet.” The real answer is 10 feet. That’s the federal...
Tougher Laws Credited with Drop in Teen Driving Deaths in Illinois
Feb 2 2009 // Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White is crediting Illinois’ tougher teen driving laws for a drop in the number of teens who died in car wrecks. According to White, the number teen driving fatalities totaled 92...
Survey: 10 Percent of Delaware Drivers are Uninsured
Jan 29 2009 // A new study shows about 10 percent of drivers in Delaware are uninsured, and that number could be headed higher. The survey by the Insurance Research Council suggests the reason is the economic downturn. It predicts the...
Arkansas Bills Restricting Drivers’ Cell Phone Use Advance
Jan 28 2009 // An Arkansas House of Representatives committee has advanced a pair of bills restricting cell phone use by drivers. The House Public Transportation Committee endorsed a bill by Rep. Ray Kidd, D-Jonesboro, that would ban...
Maryland Governor Pushes Hike in Age for Teen Drivers
Jan 28 2009 // Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will push state legislators to raise the minimum age for teen drivers and strengthen penalties for those who repeatedly drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he announced...
Teen Cell Phone Use While Driving Targeted by Texas Bill
Jan 27 2009 // Texas State Rep. Solomon Ortiz, Jr. has filed legislation to keep teen drivers safe by limiting their use of cell phones and other portable devices while driving. “This legislation will help limit distractions and...
Drunk Driver Victims Urge Mississippi to Expand Use of Ignition Locks
Jan 26 2009 // Nearly 21 years after a drunken driver plowed into her family’s Honda Civic and killed her parents and sister, Jennifer Sholar said certain sights and sounds still give her vivid flashbacks of the...
1 in 8 Hawaii Drivers Uninsured, More to Come
Jan 26 2009 // One out of eight Hawaii drivers is uninsured, and a new study says that is likely to increase as the economy crumbles. The study by the Insurance Research Council looks at data from 2007 of claims filed against uninsured...
Court: New Jersey Group Not Liable in Drunk-Driving Deaths
Jan 26 2009 // A New Jersey nonprofit group is not liable for providing alcohol at a party where four guests were later killed in a drunk-driving crash, the state Supreme Court has ruled. The court upheld a law that allows licensed...
North Dakota Could Back Tougher Teen Driving Laws
Jan 25 2009 // North Dakota lawmakers strongly support toughening state laws that govern teenage drivers, and many favor raising the state’s 14-year-old minimum driving age, an Associated Press survey shows. Insurance Commissioner...
Economic Downturn Driving More Motorists to Ranks of Uninsured
Jan 21 2009 // Approximately one in six drivers across the U.S. may be driving uninsured by 2010, according to a recent study from Insurance Research Council (IRC). Although the estimated percentage of uninsured motorists decreased...
Bill Filed to Increase Penalties for Drunk Driving in Oklahoma
Jan 20 2009 // Each year, more than 17,000 Americans are killed by drunk drivers including approximately 275 Oklahomans and around 1.5 million drunk drivers are arrested according the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office. Having lost a...
Maine and Delaware Consider Restricting Drivers’ Cell Phone Use
Jan 16 2009 // The states of Maine and Delaware are considering limits on how drivers use cell phones. A Delaware lawmaker is trying again to pass legislation barring the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Rep. Joe Miro says...
New York Audit: Unqualified Drivers Received Commercial Licenses
Jan 15 2009 // An audit finds that the New York state Department of Motor Vehicles has incorrectly scored some tests for some commercial drivers and given licenses to people who were not qualified. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says...
Older Drivers’ Fatal Crashes Trend Down Even as More Seniors Drive
Jan 14 2009 // Despite growing numbers on the road, fewer older drivers died in crashes and fewer were involved in fatal collisions during 1997-2006 than in years past, a new Insurance Institute for Highway Safety study reports. Crash...
Drivers Examine Damage after Massive Pileup in New Hampshire
Jan 14 2009 // A day after a multiple-vehicle pileup on Interstate 93, car owners were calling insurance companies and examining their wrecked cars. More than 100 people were injured in Sunday’s pileup, none of them seriously. The...
North Dakota Republican Seeks Fines to Curb Driving While Texting
Jan 14 2009 // North Dakota Rep. Lawrence Klemin recalls the driver who pulled alongside him at a stoplight recently, eyes down, thumbs frantically working a tiny keyboard that was propped on the steering wheel. “When the stoplight...
La. Ranks High For Safe Driving Laws, Other S.C. States, not so Much
Jan 14 2009 // A new report finds Louisiana is among 15 states to have made progress in enacting key highway safety laws. Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas did not fare so well. The 55-page study was done by Advocates for Highway and Auto...
