Articles by Bernie Woodall

Uber Settles with Family of Victim of Driverless Accident

The family of the woman killed by an Uber Technologies Inc. self-driving vehicle in Arizona has reached a settlement with the ride services company, ending a potential legal battle over the first fatality caused by an autonomous vehicle. Cristina Perez …

After Drenching Gulf Coast, Tropical Storm Cindy Heads North, East

The remnants of Tropical Storm Cindy brought tornadoes and flooding to the U.S. Gulf Coast on Thursday and its heavy rains will drench much of the eastern United States in coming days, forecasters said. Flooding and road closures stretched from …

GM CEO Says Keep Steering Wheels, Brakes in Self-Driving Cars

General Motors Co. Chief Executive Mary Barra on Tuesday said she believes self-driving vehicles should keep steering wheels, brake pedals and accelerators in them as the technology develops. “We think that having that capability when the steering wheel and the …

Texas Teen’s Air Bag Death Spurs Renewed Call to Fix Recalled Cars

The brother of a Texas teenager killed by shrapnel from an exploding Takata Corp air bag said that his family never received a recall notice about the defective vehicle safety device. The brother’s comments came as federal safety regulators called …

Carfax: 1 in 5 Vehicles Needs Recall Repair; Texas Has the Most

Nearly one-in-five vehicles on U.S. roads is in need of repair of a safety issue serious enough to be involved in a federal government recall, according to used-car history provider Carfax. There are more than 47 million cars in the …

1 in 5 Vehicles Needs Recall Repair: Carfax

Nearly one in five vehicles on U.S. roads is in need of repair of a safety issue serious enough to be involved in a federal government recall, according to used-car history provider Carfax. There are more than 47 million cars …

Takata Discloses 11th Death Linked to Air Bag; Announces New 5 Million Vehicle Recall

U.S. auto safety regulators said Tuesday that air bag maker Takata Corp. declared 5.1 million U.S. vehicles defective, as the company disclosed an 11th death could be linked to a faulty airbag. Most of the vehicles mentioned in numerous previous …

Hacker Claims to Open GM’s OnStar App, Start Engine Remotely

A researcher is advising drivers not to use a mobile app for General Motors Co.’s OnStar vehicle communications system, saying hackers can exploit a security flaw in the product to unlock cars and start engines remotely. “White-hat” hacker Samy Kamkar …

Fiat Chrysler Recall Highlights Cyber Risks of Connected Cars, Telematics

Fiat Chrysler will recall 1.4 million vehicles in the United States to install software to prevent hackers from gaining remote control of the engine, steering and other systems in what federal officials said was the first such action of its …

Toyota to Settle Acceleration Cases for More Than $1 Billion

Toyota Motor Corp. has agreed to spend $1.1 billion to settle sweeping U.S. class-action litigation over claims that millions of its vehicles accelerate unintentionally, as the Japanese automaker seeks to move past the biggest safety crisis in its history. Shares …