Latest Personal Auto Headlines

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

Vermont Considers Special Car Locks for Repeat Drunk Drivers

Apr 23 2008 // The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee says he wants Vermont to study special ignition locks for repeat drunken drivers that would require a clean breath test before allowing a car to be started. “My intention...

Ignoring Flood Signs could Bring Reckless Driving Charge in Tennessee

Apr 23 2008 // Drivers who ignore flood warning signs or barricades could be charged with reckless driving under a bill passed by the Tennessee Senate. The Senate voted 33-0 on Monday to approve the measure sponsored by Sen. Bill Ketron,...

South Carolina Gov. Signs Impaired Driving Bill into Law

Apr 22 2008 // South Carolina Gov.Mark Sanford signed a new law last week to toughen the state’s penalties for driving under the influence and to remove enforcement loopholes. The bill significantly strengthens the state’s...

No Mass. Workers’ Comp For Sleepy Big Dig Employee Hurt Driving Home

Apr 21 2008 // A construction worker on Boston’s “Big Dig” highway project is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for injuries he suffered after he fell asleep while driving home late from work, the...

Virginia Students’ ‘Safety Bug’ Ride Mimics Drunk Driving

Apr 21 2008 // Salem (Virginia) High School students got firsthand experience with drunken driving on a recent morning. Almost 100 students buckled into the Safety Bug, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle designed to mimic the effects of drunken...

U of Buffalo Opens Safe Driving Simulator Lab

Apr 21 2008 // A new driving simulation laboratory is now open for business in the University at Buffalo School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The state-of-the-art facility, housed in UB’s New York State Center for Industrial...

La. House Committee Approves Bill Limiting Drivers’ Cell Phone Use

Apr 16 2008 // Cell phone use by drivers would be restricted heavily in Louisiana, if the full Legislature agrees to a bill approved by the House Transportation Committee. The measure would ban the use of text-messaging while driving and...

Connecticut Opens Center to Promote Safer Driving by Teenagers

Apr 14 2008 // The state Department of Motor Vehicles is setting up a safe driving program for teenagers in response to several fatal car accidents in Connecticut over the past year. Gov. M. Jodi Rell says the Center for Teen Safe...

Maryland Lawmakers Put Off Bills on Teen Driving until 2009

Apr 14 2008 // Supporters of bills that would put new restrictions on teen drivers in Maryland are vowing to try again next year. Several teen driving proposals died in the recently concluded legislative session. The only one to pass was...

Creator of Delaware Teen Driving Program Has Felony Record

Apr 11 2008 // Officials in Delaware say they’ve learned the man behind a safe driving course being offered to Delaware teenagers has a felony record. Authorities say Paul Burris was convicted in 2005 in Florida in a grand theft...

Texas Attorney General Acts to Halt Sale of Fake Driver’s Licenses

Apr 11 2008 // Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has charged a Houston company with selling fake driver’s licenses to immigrants. An enforcement action filed by the Attorney General asked the court to stop the defendants, Centro...

Connecticut House Votes for Tougher Teen Driving Restrictions

Apr 11 2008 // Connecticut has moved closer toward enacting tougher rules for teenage drivers, reforms spurred by a several fatal crashes over the past year that involved teens at the wheel. The House of Representatives voted 109-33 in...

Sleepy Employee Hurt Driving Home Denied Mass. Workers’ Comp

Apr 9 2008 // A construction worker on Boston’s “Big Dig” highway project is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits for injuries he suffered after he fell asleep while driving home late from work, the...

New Jersey Court: Injured Delivery Driver Can’t Collect Damages

Apr 9 2008 // A truck driver struck by a car while making an early-morning delivery stop at a New Jersey Taco Bell cannot collect damages from his employer because his injuries entitled him to workers’ compensation benefits, a...

Main Street America Adds States to Personal Auto Program

Apr 7 2008 // The Main Street America Group introduced its new Personal Auto MVP (multivariate rating program) product to its independent insurance agents in Maryland and Tennessee, bringing the total now to nine states. Personal Auto...

Officials Estimate About One in Four Oklahoma Drivers Uninsured

Apr 7 2008 // About one of every four vehicles on Oklahoma roads is uninsured despite efforts by lawmakers to target motorists who drive without insurance, state officials say. The state’s rate of uninsured motorists has remained...

N.J. Bars Can Be Liable for Drivers Who Drink Elsewhere

Apr 7 2008 // New Jersey bars can be sued for the actions of drunken drivers who leave those establishments, even if the drivers consumed no alcohol while at the bars, a panel of judges has unanimously declared. The ruling by the state...

Virginia Students Take Spin in ‘Safety Bug’ that Mimics Drunk Driving

Apr 4 2008 // Salem (Virginia) High School students got firsthand experience with drunken driving on a recent morning. Almost 100 students buckled into the Safety Bug, a yellow Volkswagen Beetle designed to mimic the effects of drunken...

Insurer Group Sees Tennessee Legislation as Victory for Insured Drivers

Apr 4 2008 // Tennessee drivers scored a major legislative victory with the passage of a new law that stops cities from imposing hidden taxes on motorists, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. The...

Impaired Driver Bill Advances in Tennessee Senate

Apr 3 2008 // A proposal to lower the blood alcohol content required for a person to be guilty of extreme drunken driving is among several impaired driving bills slowly moving in the Tennessee Legislature. The measure sponsored by Sen....