Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Uber Can’t Avoid Driver Classification Lawsuit, Says Supreme Court
May 18 2021 // The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned away Uber’s bid to avoid a lawsuit over whether drivers for the ride-hailing company’s limousine platform UberBLACK are employees and not independent contractors as the...
Tesla Owner Got into Driver’s Seat Before Deadly Texas Crash: NTSB
May 12 2021 // Home security camera footage shows that the owner of a Tesla got into the driver’s seat of the car shortly before a deadly crash in suburban Houston, according to a new government report. But the preliminary report...
Self-Driving Car Firms Seek to Charge for Rides in San Francisco: Reuters
May 12 2021 // Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo and rival Cruise have applied for permits needed to start charging for rides and delivery using autonomous vehicles in San Francisco, state documents reviewed by Reuters showed, setting the...
Ohio Bill Would Ban Drivers from Holding Phones, Devices
May 4 2021 // Holding a cell phone or other electronic device while driving in Ohio would be illegal under legislation introduced May 3 that takes aim at distracted driving by targeting not just texting but scrolling through social...
Driver in California Crash That Killed 9 Was Drunk, Report Shows
May 4 2021 // The driver of an SUV involved in a central California crash that killed nine, including seven children, was drunk and didn’t have a license, federal investigators said in a preliminary report. The children, who were...
9th Circuit Lifts Stay on Labor Law Classifying Truck Drivers as Employees
May 3 2021 // A federal appellate court on April 28 reversed a ruling that prevented California from enforcing a new labor law that trucking companies contend will force them to discontinue the use of independent owner-operators and...
Toyota Constructs a Sensor-Laden Entire City to Test Its Self-Driving Cars
Apr 29 2021 // In late February, Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda gathered with a handful of Shinto priests in a white tent at the foot of Mount Fuji. The group prayed — as is customary when embarking on new builds in Japan —...
UK Is First Country to Green Light Self-Driving Cars on Motorways
Apr 28 2021 // The UK government on Wednesday became the first country to announce it will regulate the use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on motorways, with the first such cars possibly appearing on public roads as soon as this...
Agency Start-up Sigo Serving Latinx, Immigrant Drivers Raises $1.5M
Apr 27 2021 // A start-up managing general agency focused on auto insurance for underserved populations including immigrants and Latin Americans has raised seed funding to help it launch an initial product. Sigo pulled in $1.5 million in...
Governor Signs Oklahoma Bill Allowing Third-Party Drivers License Examiners
Apr 27 2021 // Legislation allowing for state, county and municipal government agencies in Oklahoma to contract with third-party examiners for commercial drivers license (CDL) exams and other similar tests has been signed into law. House...
Senators File Bill to Mandate Driver Monitoring Systems
Apr 27 2021 // Three Democratic U.S. senators on Monday said they are introducing legislation that would require U.S. regulators to mandate installation of driver-monitoring systems to ensure motorists pay attention while using systems...
Citing China, Senators Bid to Accelerate U.S. Self-Driving Vehicle Industry
Apr 23 2021 // Two U.S. senators are working to attach legislation to allow automakers to deploy tens of thousands of self-driving vehicles on U.S. roads to a bipartisan China bill, a significant reform that could help speed the...
Insurers Warn that Drivers May Not Understand Limits of ‘Automated’ Car Technology
Apr 21 2021 // LONDON – Britain’s goal to be a leader in adopting self-driving cars could backfire unless automakers and government regulators spell out the current limitations of the technology, insurance companies...
Distracted Driving Bill Crashes In Alabama Legislature
Apr 15 2021 // The Alabama House of Representatives last week narrowly rejected a proposal to fine people for using a smartphone while driving. The bill by Republican Rep. K.L. Brown of Jacksonville would have prohibited a driver from...
Distracted Driving a Major Problem in Texas, Transportation Officials Say
Apr 9 2021 // Distracted driving comes in second for the cause of traffic crashes in Texas, state transportation officials say. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) reports that one in five traffic crashes are caused by cell...
Maine Lawsuit Over Uber Driver’s Refusal of Guide Dog Can Go On
Apr 9 2021 // A judge in Maine has ruled that a woman who has impaired vision can go ahead with a claim against Uber, which she has said discriminated against her by refusing to allow her guide dog into a vehicle. The lawsuit stretches...
North Carolina Agents Launch Distracted Driving Campaign
Apr 7 2021 // The Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina (IIANC) have launched a campaign designed to inform and educate the driving public, especially parents and young drivers, about the peril of distracted driving, which...
South Carolina Senate Passes Bill to Ticket Slow Drivers in Left Lane
Apr 1 2021 // The South Carolina Senate has passed a bill to fine people who don’t get over from the left lane of a three-lane highway when overtaken by traffic. The version passed last week by the Senate fines drivers $25 but...
Distracted Driving Behaviors Increased During Pandemic. Are Bosses to Blame?
Mar 31 2021 // One in four drivers thinks that roads are safer today than they were before the pandemic, yet a growing number of drivers are texting or emailing while driving– in part as more of them feel pressured to be available...
Former California Uber Driver Convicted of Raping Passengers
Mar 29 2021 // A former Uber driver in Central California was found guilty of sexually assaulting and stealing from five passengers. Jurors took less than three hours to convict Alfonso Alarcon Nunez of 13 felonies, including three...
