Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Driverless Vehicle Makers Reach Feared Crossroad with Uber Fatality
Mar 20 2018 // Last week, Waymo showed a video of people riding in its self-driving minivans. They thumbed their phones, yawned and one snoozed. The message: Driverless cars are so safe, they’re boring. The clip was meant to drum...
Wisconsin Study: Helmets Reduce Neck Injuries in Motorcycle Crashes
Mar 19 2018 // A study of University of Wisconsin Hospital trauma patients found that motorcyclists who don’t wear helmets are twice as likely to suffer neck injuries in crashes compared to those who use helmets. The study looked...
Uber Halts Road Tests After Autonomous Car Hits, Kills Pedestrian in Arizona
Mar 19 2018 // Uber Technologies Inc. halted autonomous vehicle tests after one of its cars struck and killed a woman in Tempe, Arizona, in what is likely the first pedestrian fatality involving the technology. The woman was crossing the...
Texas Moves to Liquidate Non-Standard Auto Insurer, Access
Mar 19 2018 // Texas insurance regulators placed into receivership and started the process of liquidating a Texas-domiciled/Atlanta, Georgia-headquartered property/casualty insurance company that the insurance department says is...
Snow Causes 81-Vehicle Highway Pileup in Ohio
Mar 15 2018 // Authorities say a blinding, late-afternoon snow squall caused an 81-vehicle pileup on a major highway in central Ohio, but no one was seriously hurt. The crashes left vehicles crunched, tipped over and scattered at odd...
Democratic Senators Call for Changes in Federal Autonomous Vehicle Bill
Mar 15 2018 // Five Democratic U.S. senators on Wednesday urged changes to a stalled landmark bill aimed at speeding the deployment and testing of self-driving cars. “We are concerned that the bill indefinitely preempts state and...
GEICO to Comply with New York Reg Banning Discriminatory Auto Insurance Rates
Mar 14 2018 // A third major automobile insurance company in the New York market has reached agreement with the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) in compliance with the department’s final regulation prohibiting...
GM to Pilot Airbnb-Like Service for Autos This Summer
Mar 14 2018 // General Motors Co. plans to start a pilot program this summer that will enable car owners to rent out their vehicles when they aren’t using them, according to people familiar with the matter. The tests will begin in...
California Car Wash Mogul Nailed for Cheating Hundreds of Workers Out Of Wages
Mar 13 2018 // The owner of some 100 local car washes and gas stations in Southern California has been charged with failing to pay minimum wage and overtime to some 700 workers. The Orange County Register reported prosecutors say Vahid...
A Third of Nevada Drivers Could See Auto Insurance Rates Rise
Mar 13 2018 // About one in three Nevada motorists, or as many as 600,000 people, could face a 9 percent jump in auto insurance rates this summer when the state raises the basic required minimum levels of bodily injury and property...
Uber, Lyft and New York Loss Transfer
Mar 13 2018 // Ridesharing has officially arrived in New York, and confusion over New York no-fault insurance and PIP Loss Transfer has arrived with it. On June 29, 2017, the New York State Assembly approved and Governor Andrew Cuomo...
Why Driverless Delivery of Goods Is Likely to Arrive Before Passengers
Mar 13 2018 // In the wait for self-driving technology, cell-phone toting tech bros may have to cede their spot in line to pizzas, Craigslist couches and the mounting ephemera of e-commerce. The future—at least in the near-term—will...
Fraud, Lawsuit Abuse Earns Florida No. 1 Spot on ‘Judicial Hellhole’ List
Mar 13 2018 // Florida’s number one Judicial Hellhole ranking for 2017 from the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF) is unlikely to be an achievement the state will celebrate any time soon. Quite the opposite, according to...
Staged Car Crashes in South Carolina a Growing Problem
Mar 12 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...
Vehicle Recalls in U.S. Fell in 2017 After 3 Years of Record High Levels
Mar 12 2018 // U.S. motor vehicle recalls fell to 30.7 million in 2017, the lowest level since 2013, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Thursday, after a record 53 million were recalled in 2016 when a callback...
Delaware-Based Auto Warranty Firm Faces Consumer Fraud Probe
Mar 9 2018 // A Delaware-based auto service contract company is under investigation following complaints from customers around the country. The News Journal reports that a recorded message at American Standard Auto Protection in...
One Issue with Self-Driving Cars Turns out to be People
Mar 7 2018 // One problem with self-driving cars is people. The Los Angeles Times reported that of six crash reports filed in California so far this year, two involved a person attacking a robot car. Both incidents happened in San...
Who Is Liable When No One Is Driving? Finale
Mar 7 2018 // We are grateful for friend of the Academy, Christopher J. Boggs, CPCU, ARM, ALCM, LPCS, AAI, APA, CWCA, CRIS, AINS, Executive Director, Big “I” Virtual University who provided this blog series about autonomous...
Tennessee Insurance Consumer Complaints Down Slightly in 2017
Mar 5 2018 // Insurance complaints decreased again in 2017 and remained the last of the top 10 consumer complaint categories, according to the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s (TDCI) Division of Consumer...
State Auto Sells Rockhill’s General Liability, Gas Distribution Business to K2 Insurance
Mar 2 2018 // State Auto Insurance is continuing its exit from the specialty insurance business, selling off more of the business of its excess and surplus lines subsidiary, Rockhill Insurance Group. The buyer this time is specialty...
