Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. Looks to Revamp Auto Safety Ratings, Add High-Tech Crash Dummies
Dec 9 2015 // U.S. regulators proposed a remake of the five-star crash-test ratings system for automobiles to take into account new technology — and new test dummies. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s...
South Carolina Insurers to Weather At Least $181M in Claims from October Storm
Dec 8 2015 // A pickup truck rests against the side of Gills Creek near a bridge in Columbia, S.C., Monday, Oct. 5, 2015. Days of torrential rains kept much of South Carolina and its capital gripped by floodwaters early Monday. (AP...
Insurance Lies Clients Believe – And Pass on to Others
Dec 7 2015 // Myths, legends and lies are hard to dispel and correct, especially when doing so appears to financially harm the teller or believer. If the myth is true, the client (the teller/believer) does not need to purchase the...
Study Says Telematics Use Changing Drivers’ Behavior
Dec 7 2015 // Telematics devices offered by auto insurers appear to working to change the behavior of drivers. More than half (56 percent) of the 1,135 drivers participating in an Insurance Research Council (IRC) public opinion survey...
Brain Damaged Motorcyclist in Hawaii Gets $1.3M Settlement
Dec 1 2015 // A federal judge has approved a $1.3 million settlement in a lawsuit filed by a Hawaii motorcyclist who suffered permanent brain injury in a 2012 collision in Honolulu. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reports that Aaron Aloya...
Insurance ‘Sting’ Aims to Catch Cargo Thieves During Their Busy Holiday Season
Dec 1 2015 // Somewhere in America, a tractor-trailer loaded with hidden surveillance equipment is parked at a truck stop or warehouse while authorities wait for thieves to steal it. No one is sure when, or even if, crooks will take it....
Paul Walker’s Father Sues Porsche for Negligence in Fatal California Crash
Nov 30 2015 // Paul Walker’s father has sued Porsche for negligence and wrongful death over the 2013 accident that killed the “Fast & Furious” star. Walker’s father, who is the executor of his son’s...
App to Alert Drivers About Emergency Vehicles Being Tested in Michigan
Nov 30 2015 // Cory Hohs’ idea was inspired by a close call with a Chicago fire truck on his motorcycle, but his new app, which warns drivers to the presence of emergency vehicle traffic, is being tested first in Grand Rapids,...
Texas Insurance Group Says to Lock, Take, Hide on Black Friday
Nov 25 2015 // The Insurance Council of Texas is warning shoppers about possible vehicle break-ins on the Black Friday shopping holiday. Criminals will be intent on burglarizing vehicles that may have been left unlocked or simply have...
Highway Death Toll Takes Troubling Turn: Up 8.1% This Year
Nov 25 2015 // The death toll on U.S. highways rose 8.1 percent in the first half of 2015 as low fuel prices contributed to a jump in miles driven by Americans, according to new figures from the Transportation Department. The preliminary...
3 Earn Award for Combating Auto Insurance Fraud in Massachusetts
Nov 24 2015 // Two police officers and a prosecutor who work in the Northwestern District Attorney’s office in Northampton, Massachusetts, have earned a national award for combating auto insurance fraud. Det. Lt. John Cummings,...
Texas Sees Continued Increase in Vehicle Crashes, Fatalities
Nov 23 2015 // For the fourth year in a row, the numbers of vehicle crashes in Texas involving both injuries and fatalities have risen, an insurance trade group reported. Both numbers began rising dramatically in 2012, when Texas highway...
Seniors Fitted for Safe Driving Through Virginia’s Car Fit Program
Nov 23 2015 // William Cohen beeped his car horn, making those nearest jump and then laugh. Getting the all-clear from a nearby Albemarle County, Virginia, police officer, the senior driver took off for the parking lot exit in his black...
Technology to Improve Truckers Safety Tested in Utah
Nov 23 2015 // Utah is test-driving new technology that could improve safety and fuel efficiency for big-rig truckers. The Utah Department of Transportation started conducting field tests last week of a vehicle-to-vehicle communication...
State Auto Companies Name LaRocco, Kunk as Board Chairs
Nov 19 2015 // State Auto Financial Corp. has named President and CEO Michael E. LaRocco chairman of STFC to succeed current Chairman Robert P. Restrepo Jr. upon his retirement from the STFC board at the end of the year. STFC’s...
GEICO 1st Auto Insurer in N.Y. to Offer Digital ID Cards for Policyholders
Nov 18 2015 // New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced that GEICO has become the first insurer in New York State to complete the certification process through the Department of Motor Vehicles to allow customers to begin using electronic...
Telematics Changing Drivers’ Behavior: Insurance Research
Nov 18 2015 // Telematics devices offered by auto insurers appear to working to change the behavior of drivers. More than half (56 percent) of the 1,135 drivers participating in an Insurance Research Council (IRC) public opinion survey...
California DMV’s Pedestrian Pace on Self-Driving Car Rules Makes Google Antsy
Nov 17 2015 // Hustling to bring cars that drive themselves to a road near you, Google finds itself somewhere that has frustrated many before: Waiting on the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The tech titan wants the freedom to...
100-Year-Old South Carolina Man Dies After Driving Car into Tree
Nov 16 2015 // Authorities say a 100-year-old man has been killed after the car he was driving on a private road at a gated South Carolina island resort ran into a tree. S.C. Highway Patrol Lance Cpl. Hannah Wimberly said the wreck...
How to Know What Insurance Customers Want
Nov 16 2015 // What do today’s customers want from insurance providers? They want understanding, interaction, even a relationship. But they vary in when and how they wish to learn, interact and build a relationship. Insurance...