Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Auto Wrecks with 3 or More Fatalities Rise in Texas
Sep 22 2014 // The number of auto accidents involving three or more deaths has more than doubled in Texas since 2010, with more fatalities occurring along roads seeing increased traffic because of the oil and gas boom. An investigation...
Chicago Rideshare Law Requires $1M Commercial Auto, $1M CGL Cover
Sep 22 2014 // Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of legislation that would have implemented statewide regulation of commercial rideshare organizations, or transportation network companies (TNCs), put the spotlight on the Chicago...
Safety Coalition Sues U.S. Over Missing Trucker Training Rules
Sep 21 2014 // The U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration was sued by a coalition of groups seeking to force the agency to issue stiffer rules for training entry- level truck drivers. Regulators have missed multiple deadlines...
Michigan Panel: Special Authority Needed to Target Car Insurance Fraud
Sep 19 2014 // Michigan should create a special authority devoted to targeting auto insurance fraud and require insurers to more frequently send electronic verification of drivers’ insurance to the state, a task force...
Idaho Car Crash Caused by Burned Armpit Hair?
Sep 19 2014 // A SUV full of teenagers crashed in Idaho after one of the passengers lit the driver’s armpit hair on fire with a lighter, authorities said Wednesday. All five young people in the Ford Bronco were hurt in the crash...
Nevada Truck Firm in Amtrak Crash Could Pay $4.5M+
Sep 18 2014 // A Nevada trucking company could be forced to pay more than $5.5 million if a judge formalizes a jury verdict that found one of its drivers caused a 2011 crash with an Amtrak train that killed six people and injured...
Congress Hits Auto Safety Agency’s Role in GM Recalls
Sep 18 2014 // Both houses of Congress scolded the U.S. highway safety agency Tuesday over its tardy handling of a deadly problem with General Motors cars, questioning whether it is competent to guarantee the safety of increasingly...
Prop. 103 vs. Self-driving Cars Revving up in California
Sep 17 2014 // Way back in 1988 it probably seemed like the idea of self-driving vehicles was about as far off as flying cars or hovercraft. That was the year California voters enacted Proposition 103, giving among other things an...
$3M Auto Insurance Fraud Scheme in Texas Leads to Prison Time
Sep 17 2014 // Two Bryan, Texas, men have been sentenced for their roles in a scheme that authorities say defrauded insurance companies of more than $3 million. Earlie Dickerson, a former office manager, was sentenced in Houston federal...
Self-driving Cars Could Require Overhaul of Insurance Regulation
Sep 16 2014 // What is an autonomous vehicle? As demonstrated in a Sept. 15 California Department of Insurance informational hearing, that’s a misleadingly simple question. Regulators’ attempt to stay in front of the curve,...
Detroit Takes Another Title: Highest Car Insurance in America
Sep 16 2014 // The Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor metropolitan area has higher auto insurance rates than any other top 25 metro area in the United States. It wasn’t even close, according to the financial information provider (Bankrate...
Foreign Accents Drive Smart Cars’ Voice Technology Crazy
Sep 11 2014 // Colin and Rachel Britton have a failure to communicate when they slip into their $95,000 Mercedes GL500. Not with each other, with their car. Its voice recognition system is dumbfounded by their British accents, especially...
U of M, Carmakers Fund Research Toward Communicating Cars
Sep 9 2014 // A group of companies, including several large automakers, have joined a public-private research initiative to lay the groundwork for a system that wirelessly connects vehicles and helps smooth the flow of traffic, the...
Storm Clouds on the Reinsurance Horizon despite Record Capital
Sep 9 2014 // As the reinsurance industry prepares for its annual get together in Monte Carlo next week, a number of analytical reports have appeared, which show that, despite some significantly good numbers for the first six months of...
Report from California Agency Looks at Millennials, Baby Boomers
Sep 8 2014 // Millennials are driving a greater need for a more flexible auto insurance market, while Baby Boomers are proving new opportunities for independent agents, according to a study from a general agency headquartered in San...
Private Equity Firm HGGC Buys Into Florida Non-Standard Auto MGA Pearl Holding
Sep 8 2014 // HGGC, a middle market private equity firm, said it has completed a majority investment in Pearl Holding Group, a managing general agent (MGA) focused on the non-standard auto insurance market in Florida. As part of the...
2017 Cadillacs to Feature Hands-Free Driving, V2V Technology
Sep 8 2014 // General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, will introduce a Cadillac model in two years that can travel on the highway without the driver holding the steering wheel or putting a foot on a pedal. The 2017 Cadillac...
Louisiana AG Files Suit Against State Farm over Auto Repair Practices
Sep 8 2014 // Alleging “a culture of unsafe business practices” in its handling of vehicle repairs, Louisiana’s attorney general has filed suit against insurance giant State Farm. Attorney General Buddy...
Texas Bugatti Owner Destroys Vehicle in Insurance Fraud Scheme
Sep 8 2014 // A Lufkin, Texas, man has pleaded guilty to federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney John M. Bales. According to information presented in court, in October 2009,...
Usage-Based Insurance Overcoming Privacy Concerns, Gaining Traction
Sep 5 2014 // Consumers as well as commercial fleet managers are becoming more accepting of usage-based insurance (UBI) in which a telematics device is used to track driving behavior as safety and savings benefits appear to be trumping...
