Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Restrictions on Cellphones While Driving Not Being Added in Louisiana
May 21 2018 // Louisiana will not be enacting a ban on hand-held cellphone use while driving. A House-backed proposal stalled in the Senate, and the regular session ended Friday without action on the bill, killing it. Rep. Mike Huval, a...
Pennsylvania Reminds Drivers, Insurance Producers How to Switch Auto Coverage
May 21 2018 // Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman is encouraging producers who sell auto insurance policies to help their customers understand what they need to do when switching to a new auto insurer to avoid any...
Utah Tesla Driver Had Hands off Wheel Before Crash, Data Shows
May 18 2018 // A Utah driver turned on the semi-autonomous functions of her Tesla vehicle and then didn’t touch the steering wheel again for 80 seconds before slamming into a firetruck stopped at a red light last week, a summary of...
Georgia Bans Use of Handheld Devices While Driving
May 16 2018 // Georgia has become the latest state to ban the use of handheld devices while behind the wheel. Gov. Nathan Deal signed H.B. 673 into law on May 2, making Georgia the 16th state to ban using a cellphone, including texting,...
Two Killed in Tesla Car Crash in Florida
May 9 2018 // A Tesla car crashed and caught fire in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Tuesday, killing two people, local police said on Wednesday. A third person in the Model S sedan was taken to a hospital, the Miami Herald reported late on...
Show Teen Drivers Some Money
May 7 2018 // Teens who text while driving may be convinced to reduce risky cellphone use behind the wheel when offered financial incentives such as auto insurance apps that monitor driving behavior and reward good drivers with...
Family of Montana Man Killed by Drunk Driver Settles Suit With Bar
Apr 30 2018 // The family of a Montana man killed by a drunken driver has reached a settlement with one of the bars they claimed over-served the driver. The Independent Record reports 25-year-old Samuel Tielking died in Helena in...
Money Talks When Getting Teens to Stop Texting While Driving
Apr 27 2018 // Show them the money! Teens who text while driving may be convinced to reduce risky cellphone use behind the wheel when offered financial incentives such as auto insurance apps that monitor driving behavior and reward good...
Pricing Insurance to Reflect Distracted Driving Risk
Apr 24 2018 // Insurance companies are finally putting a price on the risk of distracted driving, and it’s relatively cheap. Last year, a ticket for using a mobile phone while driving added $226 to the average insurance policy, an...
Massachusetts Rail System Addressing Engineers With Bad Driving Records
Apr 23 2018 // Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is taking steps ensure that commuter rail engineers with poor personal driving records aren’t putting passengers’ safety at risk. The Boston Globe reports the Republican...
Data Show Rise in Fatal Car Crashes on 4/20 Marijuana ‘Holiday’
Apr 16 2018 // Marijuana users’ self-proclaimed holiday is linked with a slight increase in fatal U.S. car crashes, an analysis of 25 years of data found. The study lacks evidence on whether pot was involved in any of the April 20...
Data Show Rise in Fatal Car Crashes on 4/20 Marijuana ‘Holiday’
Apr 16 2018 // Marijuana users’ self-proclaimed holiday is linked with a slight increase in fatal U.S. car crashes, an analysis of 25 years of data found. The study lacks evidence on whether pot was involved in any of the April 20...
Uber Drivers Are Not Employees Under Federal Law, Judge Rules
Apr 13 2018 // A U.S. judge in Philadelphia has ruled that limousine drivers for Uber Technologies Inc. are independent contractors and not the company’s employees under federal law, the first ruling of its kind on a crucial issue...
Tesla Insists Driver to Blame for Fatal Crash; Family Hires Lawyer
Apr 12 2018 // Tesla Inc. again placed blame for a fatal crash involving a Model X last month on the driver as the man’s family hires a firm to explore legal options. The March 23 death of Walter Huang happened on a clear day, with...
Police: GPS Failed to Warn Bus Driver Before New York Overpass Crash
Apr 11 2018 // The out-of-state driver of a charter bus full of high school students that crashed into a low-hanging overpass on a Long Island parkway was using a non-commercial GPS device that didn’t warn him about the hazard in...
State-by-State Study Shows Drivers Are Texting More Despite Bans
Apr 10 2018 // If you’re driving right now, it’s far more likely you are reading this on your phone than you would have been a year ago. Despite a harrowing surge in traffic fatalities, American drivers appear to be getting...
Rhode Island Monitoring App Could Save Drivers on Car Insurance
Apr 10 2018 // A new auto insurance company in Rhode Island is rewarding drivers with cheaper rates based off how they drive. The catch is that policyholders have to allow HiRoad Assurance Company to track them in a cellphone app. The...
Judge Dismisses State Farm Car Crash Suit Against Mississippi U.S. Senate Appointee
Apr 10 2018 // A lawsuit against U.S. Senate appointee Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi has been permanently dismissed. The Daily Leader reports Mississippi Circuit Judge David Strong dismissed the case with prejudice April 3. That means...
Staged Car Crashes in South Carolina a Growing Problem
Apr 2 2018 // Officials in South Carolina say a rising number of staged automobile crashes are becoming a problem in the state. The Post and Courier of Charleston cited authorities who said faked crashes were part of a scam that...
More Relatives of Victim of Uber Driverless Car Crash Hire Lawyer
Apr 1 2018 // More family members of a woman killed by an Uber Technologies Inc. self-driving vehicle have hired legal counsel, indicating the ride services firm’s legal problems may not be over in the first fatality caused by an...
