Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
N.Y. Unveils Plan to Give Illegal Immigrants Drivers’ Licenses
Sep 24 2007 // New York State officials say a plan to provide driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants with valid foreign passports will enhance security by creating records of their identities. But critics say those records could...
Arizona Moves Closer to Ban on Texting While Driving
Sep 20 2007 // Phoenix City Council members want both hands on the wheel instead of texting and driving. The council is moving closer to becoming the first city in Arizona and among the first in the nation to ban text-messaging while...
Man Found Guilty of Manslaugher Under New Mass. Drunk Driving Statute
Sep 19 2007 // A Charlestown, Mass. man has been found guilty of manslaughter by motor vehicle and other charges in the death of a 16-year-old girl last year. Twenty-nine-year-old Robert Getz was sentenced to five years in prison on the...
New Maine Laws Affect Teens, Drivers, Bicyclists, Elders and Employers
Sep 19 2007 // Like other driving instructors across Maine, Dwight Hawkins has a new lesson to add to his course this fall: If you’re under 18 and behind the wheel, lose the cell phone. As of Sept. 20, a new Maine law will prohibit...
Minn. Crackdown on DWI Drivers Nets 2,270 Tickets
Sep 17 2007 // A statewide crackdown on people driving while intoxicated resulted in at least 2,270 arrests, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety reported. More than 400 agencies across the state participated in the...
Calif. Governor Signs Law to Ban Teen Cell Phone Use While Driving
Sep 14 2007 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed SB 33 by Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, banning teenage drivers from using all electronic devices — such as cell phones, pagers and laptops — while behind the...
Calif. Bills, Laws Target Teen Drivers’ Cell Phones and Text Messages
Sep 11 2007 // Narin Leininger knows about the risks of talking on a cell phone or sending text messages while driving. The 16-year-old high school junior says he’d only use his phone behind the wheel in an emergency — a flat...
Mich. Sets New Requirements for Drivers Training for Teens
Sep 10 2007 // Every state has some form of graduated driver’s licensing. It typically restricts nighttime driving and bans teen passengers until drivers rack up hours of driving experience. But Michigan Secretary of State Terri...
Texas Uninsured Drivers Targeted Under New $6 Million Program
Sep 5 2007 // Texans driving without insurance may have a harder time dodging a ticket when the state unveils a $6 million database in January that will give police immediate access to updated coverage information. The Texas Financial...
One-Third of Parent Drivers Unsure on Child Passenger Restraints
Sep 5 2007 // When it comes to properly restraining their children in vehicles, many parents are in the dark, according to a survey by GMAC Insurance. The survey found that approximately one in three licensed parents could not correctly...
New Law Allows Texas Drivers Flexibility on Paying Penalty Surcharges
Sep 4 2007 // A new state law enables the Texas Department of Public Safety to offer more flexibility for the nearly 775,000 drivers who haven’t paid state surcharges for driving violations. The law, which took effect Saturday, is...
DRUNKEN DRIVING
Sep 3 2007 // WORKPLACE INJURIES Slight drop in 2006 CREDIT SCORING Still an issue for consumer advocates
New Way for Parents to Observe How Their Teens are Driving
Aug 31 2007 // Some Colorado teens have more than the police on their trail. An insurance company has offered to set up cameras in their cars that observe drivers. Incidents of risky driving were reduced 70 percent in a national test...
‘Smart’ Cars Could Make Driving Safer, Researchers Say
Aug 23 2007 // Cars already automatically lock doors when they sense motion and turn on warning lights if they detect potential engine problems. But they are about to get smarter. The augmented cognition research team at Sandia National...
Kan. Law Raises Concerns about Uninsured Drivers
Aug 22 2007 // A new Kansas state law that recently went into effect, making it harder for illegal immigrants to get driver’s licenses after July 1, has raised concerns that it will increase the number of unlicensed and uninsured...
Federal Officials Release Data on Drunken Driving Fatalities
Aug 22 2007 // Texas led the nation with 1,354 drunken driving fatalities in 2006 and was among the states to record the largest increase in such deaths, federal transportation officials said. The National Highway Traffic Safety...
Fla. Drivers Told Property Damage Liability Still Needed If No-Fault Expires
Aug 22 2007 // Florida drivers will still need to purchase property damage liability insurance even if the state’s no-fault insurance system disappears Oct. 1, a lawyer for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles...
Seat Belt Saves Choking Oregon Driver
Aug 17 2007 // A seat belt saved a Eugene, Ore., driver, police say, but not in the usual way. Steven Earp, 48, was eating a fast-food sandwich this week, said police Sgt. Doug Mozan. Earp choked and blacked out. His 1997 Honda sedan hit...
Okla. Lawmaker Proposes Ban on Cell Phone Use by School Bus Drivers
Aug 16 2007 // Legislation proposed by an Oklahoma state representative would prohibit school bus drivers from talking on their cell phone while driving the bus. The measure by Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, would also forbid teenagers...
Judge Hears Appeal on Ruling That Quashed Va. Bad Driver Fees
Aug 10 2007 // There was no rational basis for state legislators to assess surcharges for bad driving only on Virginians and not nonresidents, a lawyer for a repeat traffic offender told a judge considering whether the fees are...
