Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Brazil Uber Drivers Are Employees & Entitled to Benefits, Rules Judge
Feb 16 2017 // A Brazilian judge ruled that a driver using the Uber ride-hailing app is an employee of the San Francisco-based company and is entitled to workers’ benefits, adding to the global debate over labor rights for drivers...
Texas a Leader in Fatal Crashes, Alcohol-Impaired Driving
Feb 15 2017 // Texas highways continue to be a deadly form of travel as traffic crashes involving injuries and fatalities continue to rise. Last year, 3,390 traffic crashes resulted in 3,757 fatalities and 175,347 traffic crashes...
Driver Course in Illinois Offers Help for Teens With Attention Disorder
Feb 15 2017 // Chicago, Ill.-area students with attention deficit disorder are getting special attention when they learn to drive. The (Arlington Heights) Daily Herald reported a Chicago-based group called Behind the Wheel with ADHD is...
State Officials Urge Residents to Avoid Driving as Winter Storm Hits Northeast
Feb 15 2017 // Plow trucks and shovelers in the Northeast attacked the region’s newest winter storm as fresh powder piled on top of ever-growing piles and whiteout conditions made roads unsafe, immobilizing millions of...
Wisconsin Police Officers Targeting Aggressive Drivers
Feb 14 2017 // Police across Wisconsin have ramped up efforts to stop aggressive driving by writing more speeding tickets. The strategy is appearing to work, as citations increased nearly 7 percent in 2015, to more than 172,000, the...
Automakers Want Regulatory Road Cleared for Self-Driving Vehicles
Feb 14 2017 // General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. officials will tell a U.S. House panel on Tuesday that automakers need changes to automotive safety rules to allow the deployment of self-driving cars on American...
Coal Truck Driver Dies on Delivery in West Virginia
Feb 14 2017 // West Virginia mine safety authorities say a 54-year-old coal truck driver has died from injuries he suffered last week in Logan County. The Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training says the loaded truck driven...
Uber & Ola Drivers’ Strike Paralyzes Ride Hailing Services in India’s Capital
Feb 13 2017 // A strike led by drivers’ unions in the Indian capital demanding better pay from Uber and Ola has paralyzed the ride-hailing services that have grabbed business from traditional taxi and rickshaw operators with their...
Driver in Double Fatal Tesla Crash in Indiana Was Drunk, Police Say
Feb 10 2017 // The driver of a speeding Tesla electric car that crashed and burned in Indianapolis, killing her and a passenger, was too drunk to drive, according to a police report released Wednesday. The report, which includes...
Uber Offers Guaranteed Revenue for French Drivers, Avoiding Wage Law
Feb 8 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. offered to guarantee revenue for its most financially strained French drivers, temporarily averting a new law that would force a minimum wage for all chauffeurs. The company proposed a 21 euro...
Concussion Effects on Driving Linger After Symptoms Disappear
Feb 7 2017 // The effects a concussion has on driving a vehicle may continue to linger even after the symptoms disappear, according to a new study by University of Georgia researchers. Julianne Schmidt, associate professor in the UGA...
Judge Dismisses Snapchat from Georgia Distracted Driver Crash Claim
Feb 6 2017 // A Georgia judge dismissed claims against Snapchat that blamed the social media company’s “speed filter” for a highway crash. The judge said in the January ruling that the Communications Decency Act...
Report: Self-Driving Prototypes Getting Better at Navigating California Streets
Feb 3 2017 // Self-driving car prototypes appear to be getting better at negotiating California streets and highways without a human backup driver intervening, according to data made public by California transportation regulators. The...
Texas Truck Driver Charged in Fatal Oklahoma Crash Has Died
Feb 1 2017 // A Texas truck driver accused of causing a 2014 crash in Oklahoma that killed four college softball players has died by suicide at his home. The prosecutor in the Oklahoma case, Murray County District Attorney Craig Ladd,...
Drunk Driver Crashes Into Kentucky Food Truck Crowd Killing 2, Injuring 7
Feb 1 2017 // Two pedestrians were killed and seven others injured after police say a drunken driver whose blood-alcohol content was five times the legal limit lost control of his vehicle and plowed into a crowd standing near a food...
Minnesota’s ‘Plow Cams,’ Allow Drivers to See Road Conditions
Jan 31 2017 // Motorists venturing out onto snowy highways can now get a close-up look at the conditions they might encounter thanks to “plow cams” that the Minnesota Department of Transportation has mounted on some of its...
Connecticut Lawmakers Consider Higher Fines for Distracted Driving
Jan 30 2017 // Some Connecticut lawmakers want to make it tougher for distracted drivers. The General Assembly’s Transportation Committee is holding a public hearing today on several bills that would increase penalties for texting...
Main Street America Expands New Personal Auto Program Into 3 Eastern States
Jan 27 2017 // The Main Street America Group has expanded Main Street Protection Auto, its new private passenger auto insurance program for the preferred/standard marketplace, into three additional states, including New York, as well as...
Freezing Rain, Sleet Closes Northern New England Schools, Challenges Drivers
Jan 25 2017 // A mix of snow, freezing rain, and sleet has closed numerous schools and made for difficult driving in northern New England. Some snow fell across the region, but the big challenge on the roads Tuesday morning was ice and...
Judge Rules Snapchat Immune from Georgia Distracted Driver Crash Claim
Jan 25 2017 // A judge has dismissed claims against Snapchat that blamed the social media company’s “speed filter” for a highway crash. The judge said the Communications Decency Act provides the social media company...
