Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
California Employment Department Rules Former Uber Driver Was Employee
Sep 10 2015 // Uber has lost another legal round in the dispute over whether its drivers are independent contractors or employees, an issue that threatens the core of the ride-hailing company’s business model. The California...
Immigrants in Georgia Sue Over Driver’s Licenses
Sep 10 2015 // A group of immigrants whose legal residency is disputed sued Georgia’s state government August 31 for refusing to issue them driver’s licenses. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the federal lawsuit...
TDI Posts Summary of Bills Affecting Property/Casualty Insurers
Sep 9 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance has produced a summary of various bills passed by the Texas Legislature this year that impact property/casualty insurance companies. Many but not all of the following were effective Sept....
Survey: Many Drivers Unaware of Auto Safety Technology
Sep 9 2015 // Adaptive cruise control has been an option on some cars for almost a decade. But in a recent national survey, 65 percent of U.S. drivers didn’t know what it was. The survey, by the University of Iowa Public Policy...
Makers of Self-Driving Cars Could Shoulder Burden of Insurance Liability
Sep 9 2015 // Hacker attacks or faulty software could shift the burden of legal and regulatory liability toward makers of self-driving cars and away from customers, experts say, forcing regulators and insurers to develop new...
North Carolina Insurance Head Urges Lawmakers Not to Cut Driver’s Ed Funding
Sep 8 2015 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has spoken out against a proposal by state lawmakers to eliminate funding for driver education through public high schools as a way to help close a deficit in the state...
How Population Shifts Are Changing Personal Lines Insurance
Sep 8 2015 // There are “far-reaching implications” for personal lines insurers and the products and services they provide as the U.S. continues to undergo changes in its demographic structure, an industry report states. The...
10 Drivers of Surplus Lines Growth
Sep 7 2015 // Times are good for surplus lines professionals. The surplus lines industry reached new heights in 2014, growing direct premium written (DPW) in 2014 to $40.2 billion – the highest point in history, reports A.M....
Uber Headache if More Drivers Want Full-Time Status
Sep 7 2015 // Thousands of new full-time workers would spring into existence if Uber is forced to stop treating some of its drivers like contract workers, and the benefits that come with that employee status may entice part-time...
Suit by Woman Who Said Uber Indian Driver Raped Her Dropped
Sep 4 2015 // A woman who accused an Uber Technologies Inc. driver in India of raping and beating her during a ride home in December dropped her U.S. lawsuit against the company. No details were provided in a court filing saying that...
Kentucky Finalizing Ignition Interlock Law for DUI Drivers
Sep 4 2015 // Kentucky transportation officials say the state is getting close to finalizing details of a new law that will require some drunken drivers to get ignition interlock devices on their vehicles. Transportation Cabinet...
Uber Fails to Block Drivers From Suing as Group for Tips in California
Sep 3 2015 // Uber Technologies Inc. will have to defend a group lawsuit brought by drivers seeking the pay and benefits of employees. The judge’s ruling may slow the company’s growth and cut into its $50 billion valuation....
California Uber Drivers Get Class Action Status in Employment Suit
Sep 2 2015 // Uber drivers are entitled to class action status in litigation over whether they are independent contractors or employees, a key development in a case threatening Uber’s business model and that of other hot startups...
Drivers Convicted, Jailed for Crashes Now Blamed on Car Defects
Sep 2 2015 // Lakisha Ward-Green spent three months in jail after she lost control of her Chevrolet Cobalt, killing her teenage passenger. Last week, a Pennsylvania judge, citing “newly discovered evidence” erased her guilty...
Driver’s ‘Selfie’ Attempt Causes Crash, Maine Police Say
Sep 1 2015 // Maine State Police have issued a distracted driving summons to a man who they say crashed into a tree while taking a “selfie” with his passengers, injuring several of them. State police say Jordan Toner was...
Six Southeast States Team Up to Combat Driving Under the Influence
Sep 1 2015 // Law enforcement officials in six states are launching their 24th annual “Hands Across the Border” campaign aimed at catching motorists driving under the influence. The five-day campaign kicked off August 31...
Delaware Cities Tell Uber Drivers to Obtain Business Licenses
Aug 31 2015 // Officials in numerous Delaware cities have asked drivers who use the ride-hailing app Uber to obtain business licenses. The News Journal of Wilmington reports that under a deal struck by Delaware and the company this year,...
Confessions of an Underage, Unlicensed Truck Driver
Aug 28 2015 // American Trucking Associations executive Howard Abramson recently made a case in the New York Times for higher safety standards for trucks. It’s not hard to understand why: Large trucks were involved in at least...
Uber Deploys Lobbyists to Reshape Driver Rules in California
Aug 24 2015 // Uber has spent more on lobbyists in California than Facebook and Apple combined to fend off regulations aimed at the heart of its worldwide business model. The San Francisco company’s lobbyists are pushing lawmakers...
Court Says Jury Should Decide If FedEx Drivers are Employees in Missouri
Aug 24 2015 // FedEx Corp. drivers will have to start over in a fight over their employee status in Missouri. A federal appeals court said Friday that a trial judge should have let a jury decide whether the drivers were independent...
