Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Advocacy Groups Want Stronger Texting-Driving Ban in Oklahoma
May 24 2016 // Just six months after Oklahoma’s ban on texting and driving went into effect, advocacy groups are calling for even broader measures to curb distracted driving. Oklahoma was among the last states to pass a texting and...
Hundreds Arrested in Michigan Drunken Driving Crackdown
May 23 2016 // Law enforcement officers in Michigan arrested more than 560 motorists for drunken driving during a stepped-up enforcement effort earlier this year. The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning on May 4 announced the...
Massachusetts Police Wrote 6,131 Tickets for Texting While Driving in 2015
May 20 2016 // Massachusetts state data show that the number of people getting ticketed by police for texting while driving in Massachusetts has steadily increased since it became illegal six years ago. The state Transportation...
Uber Driver First Named to Lead Suit Opposes $100M Settlement
May 18 2016 // The driver originally named to lead a class-action lawsuit over pay and benefits against Uber Technologies Inc. is opposing the rideshare company’s $100 million settlement, saying he was duped by the drivers’...
Many Weed-Smoking Canadian Drivers Say They Can Drive Unimpaired: Insurers
May 18 2016 // Almost half of weed-smoking Canadian drivers say that they can safely operate a vehicle while stoned. Among Canadians who have driven under the influence of marijuana, 44 percent don’t think it impacts their ability...
Allstate Rate Hikes for Georgia Drivers Move Forward, For Now
May 17 2016 // Allstate can go ahead raise auto insurance rates for Georgia drivers later this month because a state review of the planned increase won’t be done in time to stop the higher rates from taking effect, state regulators...
Louisiana Drivers Seek Relief from Lawmakers for Insurance Lapse Fines
May 16 2016 // State lawmakers hope to offer relief to thousands of Louisiana drivers who collectively owe millions of dollars to the Office of Motor Vehicles in unpaid fines from lapsed insurance coverage. It’s not clear yet what...
Did Uber Driver Settlement Lawyer Win at Expense of Drivers?
May 16 2016 // The lawyer who struck a $100 million deal with Uber Technologies Inc. is being accused of greed by some of the drivers covered by the accord who want her bumped. “She has single-handedly stuck a knife in the back of...
Sixth Sense Lessens Risk of Driving While Absentminded But Not While Texting
May 16 2016 // While much has been made about the dangers of texting and driving, less attention has been focused on the age-old distractions of being absentminded or upset while driving. A team of researchers from the University of...
Hundreds Arrested in Michigan Drunken Driving Crackdown
May 12 2016 // Law enforcement officers in Michigan arrested more than 560 motorists for drunken driving during a stepped-up enforcement effort earlier this year. The Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning on May 4 announced results...
Lyft Raises Offer to Drivers to $27M in Contractors V. Employees Suit
May 12 2016 // Lyft Inc. raised its proposed payout to 163,000 California drivers to $27 million in their lawsuit to be treated as employees rather than contractors. The revised settlement comes after a San Francisco federal judge...
Two-Car Crash On Rainy Texas Highway Kills 5
May 11 2016 // Five people are dead following a two-car crash on a rainy Texas highway on Mother’s Day. The Texas Department of Public Safety tells the Austin American-Statesman it happened Sunday afternoon near the town of...
Background Checks For Uber, Lyft Drivers Established in Iowa
May 11 2016 // Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad has signed a bill into law that creates new statewide rules for ridesharing companies such as Uber and Uber to do business in Iowa. Branstad signed the bill this week following approval this...
Uber to Start Guild for 35K Drivers in New York City
May 11 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to start a guild for 35,000 drivers in New York that will help them negotiate with the ride-hailing company, though the group will have less power to resolve disputes than a full-fledged...
Voters in Texas Capital Keep Fingerprinting for Rideshare Drivers
May 10 2016 // Fingerprinting drivers for ride-hailing companies must continue in Texas’ capital city after voters rejected a $9 million campaign by Uber and Lyft to overturn the safety measure. Both Uber and Lyft threatened to...
Louisiana Officials Tell Drivers Insured by Affirmative to Get New Coverage Now
May 10 2016 // Louisiana’s Office of Motor Vehicles reminds drivers whose vehicles are insured by Affirmative Insurance or Affirmative Casualty Insurance that they need to have new coverage by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday. Otherwise, says...
Tennessee Revokes 14K Licenses of Clarksville Area Drivers
May 10 2016 // Thousands of people in the Clarksville, Tennessee, area received surprise notices in the mail that their licenses have been revoked because records show they have not paid court fines and fees dating back to 2012. A total...
Uber Drivers’ Unpaid Mileage Expenses Total $730 Million, Lawyers Claim
May 9 2016 // Drivers who worked for ride-hailing service Uber in California and Massachusetts over the past seven years would have been entitled to an estimated $730 million in expense reimbursements had they been employees rather than...
Delaware Gov. Supports Tougher Penalties for Texting While Driving
May 6 2016 // Delaware Gov. Jack Markell is pledging his support for a bill to toughen penalties for texting or otherwise using a handheld phone while driving. After experiencing a virtual reality demonstration May 3 of the potentially...
New Orleans Uber Drivers Let Riders Hail Illegally on Street, Say Cabbies
May 6 2016 // New Orleans taxi drivers say competitors with ridesharing service Uber illegally let passengers hail them on the street. In papers filed this week in Orleans Parish Civil District Court,The Times-Picayune reported that 26...
