Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
UK Drivers Poor Eyesight Costs $52.7 Million a Year Says RSA Report
Nov 5 2012 // A new report, commissioned by global UK-based insurer RSA, has found that road accidents caused by poor driver vision cost the UK an estimated £33 million [$52.7 million] a year and result in nearly 2,900 casualties, with...
Driver of Oil Pipe Truck Charged in Arkansas Death
Nov 5 2012 // The driver of an oil field truck has been charged with negligent homicide for the death of a 95-year-old woman who was killed when she drove into a length of pipe that protruded behind the rig. Authorities on Friday...
Survey: One-fourth of Nevada Drivers Use Hand-Held Phones
Nov 5 2012 // A statewide survey shows 27 percent of Nevadans still use hand-held telephones while driving, despite a state law banning the practice that took effect Jan. 1. University of Nevada, Reno, researchers say the third annual...
Unlicensed Minnesota Drivers Involved in More Fatal Crashes
Nov 4 2012 // The Minnesota State Patrol says unlicensed drivers are more likely to be involved in a deadly crash. Lt. Eric Roeske says statistics from 2011 show unlicensed drivers are twice as likely to be involved in fatal accidents....
1,300 Drivers Convicted of Texting Under Georgia’s 2-Year Old Law
Oct 31 2012 // State records in Georgia show that about 50 drivers a month have been convicted of texting and driving in the two years since a law to ban texting went into effect. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that as of...
Kansas Woman in Campaign Against Texting While Driving
Oct 29 2012 // Amanda Umscheid of Paxico said she’ll never get over knowing that her 19-year-old sister died while sending her a text as she drove near Manhattan, Kan., in the spring of 2009. The last thing Ashley Umscheid did...
How to Catch Texting Drivers? Conn., Mass. Get $550K Grant to Find Ways
Oct 24 2012 // The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), part of the U.S. Transportation Department, said this month it is providing $550,000 to Connecticut and Massachusetts to help them devise anti-texting enforcement...
Delaware Authorities Looking for Aggressive Drivers
Oct 24 2012 // Delaware’s Office of Highway Safety is making a coordinated effort to combat aggressive driving. Beginning this week and continuing through Nov. 3, law enforcement agencies will be specifically looking for aggressive...
Survey: 4th of Nevada Drivers Use Hand-Held Phones
Oct 24 2012 // A statewide survey shows 27 percent of Nevadans still use hand-held telephones while driving, despite a state law banning the practice that took effect Jan. 1. University of Nevada, Reno, researchers say the third annual...
Allstate: Overweight Drivers, Passengers Hurt Vehicle Fuel Efficiency
Oct 22 2012 // It’s not just the gas-guzzling SUVs that are hurting the driving fuel efficiency. The growing average weight of Americans is responsible for millions of gallons of additional gasoline used in the country every year,...
Hamster Corralled After Oregon Driver Arrested For DUI
Oct 19 2012 // Three police officers in the Portland, Ore. suburb of Beaverton went the extra mile for a hamster found riding in the lap of a driver who was arrested for investigation of DUI. Officer Mike Rowe says 27-year-old Nicole...
Allstate: Overweight Drivers, Passengers Hurt Vehicle Fuel Efficiency
Oct 9 2012 // It’s not just the gas-guzzling SUVs that are hurting the driving fuel efficiency. The growing average weight of Americans is responsible for millions of gallons of additional gasoline used in the country every year,...
Drivers May Be Unaware of Texting Habit: Study
Oct 8 2012 // Texting while driving is considered a serious public safety concern, but a new University of Michigan study suggests that drivers might not be aware of their actions. U-M researchers found that texting while driving is...
Alabama Senior Driver Credits
Oct 8 2012 // Alabama senior citizens will have easier access to courses that can qualify them for automobile insurance premium credits under a new state law that allows them to take the courses online. The courses test older...
New Jersey Tells Drivers: No Smiles Allowed in License Photos
Oct 8 2012 // New Jersey motorists have another reason to frown about their driver’s license photos. The state has banned motorists from making big smiles because such expressions don’t work with facial recognition software....
ABI Calls for New Restrictions on Younger Drivers
Oct 4 2012 // The Association of British Insurers is urging a review of the regulations for younger (17 to 24 year-old) drivers, including some new strictures that would require “a minimum one year learning period, restrictions on...
For Elderly Drivers, Families Can Help Decide When to Give Up the Keys
Oct 3 2012 // Ruth Lape of Somerset, Pennsylvania, decided to stop driving in 1999, but it wasn’t because of any limitations that she felt she had. “It was when we moved to Somerset (from Ohio),” she said. “I...
States Ranked Highest, Lowest for Teen Driver Deaths
Oct 1 2012 // Wyoming, Montana, Mississippi, West Virginia, Arkansas and Alabama have the highest death rates when teens are driving, while the District of Columbia, New York, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Jersey have the lowest...
Few Drivers in Alabama Ticketed Under New Texting Ban
Sep 28 2012 // Law officers in some eastern Alabama jurisdictions have yet to issue any citations under the state’s new law banning texting and driving. The law went into effect on Aug. 1. The Anniston Star reported that the...
Mississippi Offers Smartphone App for Driver’s Test
Sep 28 2012 // The Mississippi Department of Public Safety has partnered with Mississippi Interactive LLC to offer a driver’s practice test application for residents with the proper phones or other hand-held computing devices. The...
