Latest Personal Auto Headlines

All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Uber Expands Health Insurance Benefit to Drivers in 21 European Countries

May 24 2018 // Uber plans to offer all its European drivers an upgraded version of the health insurance it already provides in France in a drive to attract independent workers and fend off criticism over their treatment. The San...

State Farm to Cut Personal Auto Rates by 3% in Alabama

May 24 2018 // Approximately 950,000 State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. personal auto insurance customers in Alabama will see rate reductions starting next month, according to the nationwide insurance company. Thanks to the...

Woman Awarded $1.2M in New Mexico Stolen Car Crash

May 22 2018 // A Santa Fe County, N.M. jury has awarded an 80-year-old woman more than $1.2 million after she was injured in a crash involving a stolen car chased by Santa Fe police. The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the jury decided that...

American Drivers Grow More Afraid of Driverless Vehicles: AAA

May 22 2018 // Three-quarters (73 percent) of American drivers now say they would be too afraid to ride in a fully self-driving vehicle, up significantly from 63 percent in late 2017. Additionally, two-thirds (63 percent) of U.S. adults...

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...