Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
10 Fingerprints No Longer Collected for Texas Driver’s Licenses
Feb 9 2015 // Under pressure from state lawmakers, the Texas Department of Public Safety will stop collecting electronic images of an applicant’s 10 fingerprints before issuing a driver’s license. DPS said it still plans to...
Drugged Driving Increases While Drunk Driving Decreases
Feb 9 2015 // The nation’s decades-long campaign to combat drunk driving continues to make our roads safer, but use of marijuana and prescription drugs is increasingly prominent on the highways, creating new safety questions,...
Mississippi House Reintroduces Texting-While-Driving Ban
Feb 9 2015 // House members are moving ahead with a ban on texting and social media use while driving, after killing a similar bill in the closing moments of the 2014 legislative session. The House voted 98-20 Friday to approve House...
Number of Utah Driver Cards Issued to Immigrants Falls
Feb 9 2015 // The number of driver privilege cards issued in Utah to immigrants in the United States without permission hit a six-year low in 2014, state figures show. The 35,200 cards issued last year are down from a high of 43,000 in...
Oklahoma Senate Proposal Tackles Uninsured Drivers with DUIs
Feb 9 2015 // Oklahoma Sen. Ron Sharp, R-Shawnee, filed legislation to address the state’s high number of uninsured motorists, especially those with DUI convictions. Senate Bill 260 would require an individual convicted of driving...
Bridgeport, Conn., Police Department Eyes Driving Simulators
Feb 6 2015 // Two years ago on Christmas Day, veteran Police Officer Roderick Doda and new Officer Eric Schnieder suffered head and neck injuries when their cruiser was rammed by a car involved in a chase in Bridgeport, Connecticut. It...
Use of Distracted Driver Fines for Driver’s Ed Funding in Ohio Proposed
Feb 6 2015 // The state of Ohio is proposing more fines for distracted driving, with the money going to help subsidize driver’s education courses for those who can’t afford them. The Columbus Dispatch reports that the Drive...
Drivers Criticize New York Crossing Where Train, Car Collided
Feb 6 2015 // The Westchester County rail crossing made Nicole Sanders anxious even before she witnessed this week’s fiery fatal collision between a commuter train and a sport- utility vehicle. “There are a whole lot of...
Texas Families Push for Statewide Ban on Texting While Driving
Feb 5 2015 // Sitting behind pictures of loved ones killed in crashes, 15 Texas families tearfully pleaded with lawmakers to support a statewide texting-while-driving ban. “This is how I hold my baby now,” said Jeanne Brown,...
Heading a National Ridesharing Outline a Political Gain for Jones?
Feb 4 2015 // A committee of regulators led by California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones is working on standards on ridesharing that departments of insurance in states across the U.S. can look to as an example. Whether the National...
Wal-Mart Driver in Morgan Crash Can’t Halt Civil Suit
Feb 4 2015 // The Wal-Mart Stores Inc. driver whose truck crashed into a van carrying actor-comedian Tracy Morgan lost a legal bid to halt a lawsuit against the company while criminal charges are pending against him. Kevin Roper, who is...
Uber Probed by U.S. Judge in San Francisco on Driver Employment Status
Feb 2 2015 // A U.S. judge appeared skeptical on Jan. 30 about Uber’s bid for a quick pretrial ruling that its drivers are contractors and not employees, a critical question facing Silicon Valley’s sharing economy. App-based...
California Judge Questions Lyft’s Refusal to Pay Drivers as Employees
Jan 30 2015 // Lyft Inc.’s practice of treating drivers as independent contractors was questioned by a federal judge who said that under California law they may be considered employees who would qualify for minimum wage and other...
MetLife to Provide ‘Complete’ Rideshare Insurance for Lyft Drivers in Colorado
Jan 29 2015 // MetLife Auto & Home and Lyft, a nationwide transportation network company (TNC), have launched an auto insurance policy in Colorado tailored specifically for Lyft drivers that covers every stage of the trip. The...
Metromile Insurance Option for Uber Drivers Approved by California Commissioner
Jan 28 2015 // California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has approved a filing that will enable Uber drivers purchasing coverage through Metromile to add a new coverage endorsement to their personal auto policy. That endorsement will...
N.J. Official: State’s Ailing Roads, Bridges Costing Drivers Billions of Dollars
Jan 28 2015 // In the wake of the partial closure of a heavily traveled bridge in northern New Jersey last week, the state’s Transportation Commissioner Jamie Fox warned that the state’s failing roads and bridges cost drivers...
Oklahoma Senate Proposal Tackles Uninsured Drivers with DUIs
Jan 28 2015 // Oklahoma Sen. Ron Sharp has filed legislation to address the state’s high number of uninsured motorists especially those with DUI convictions. Senate Bill 260 would require an individual convicted of Driving Under...
Uber Drivers Fined After Series of Florida Stings
Jan 28 2015 // Palm Beach County officials have fined the ride-hailing service Uber and six of its drivers more than $44,000. The Palm Beach Post reports the county conducted stings last week in Boca Raton and Delray Beach, issuing...
Texas Bills Target ‘Named Driver’ Automobile Policies, Exclusions
Jan 26 2015 // A pair of bills filed in the Texas Legislature would prohibit automobile insurers from issuing “named driver” policies in the state, but one would allow named driver exclusions under certain circumstances. HB...
Personal Auto Insurers Wade Cautiously into Ridesharing Waters
Jan 23 2015 // In recent months, controversy over the potential “uninsured” status of drivers for app-based transportation network companies like Uber and Lyft has finally started to settle down. Those two services —...
