Latest Personal Auto Headlines

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

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...

Hands-Free Law Urged for Massachusetts Drivers

Aug 21 2015 // Welcome to Massachusetts signs can mean more to drivers than just crossing a state line. For some, they also signal that it’s OK to pick up their cellphones, punch in a phone number and make a call. That’s...

Uber Headache if More Drivers Want Full-Time Status

Aug 19 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...

Maine Highlights New State Law to Protect Rideshare Drivers, Passengers

Aug 19 2015 // Maine Insurance Superintendent Eric Cioppa is highlighting a new Maine law, the Transportation Network Company Insurance Act, emphasizing that it will help to protect passengers, pedestrians and other motorists from losses...

Florida Man Gets 6 Years for Staging Car Crashes, Filing False Claims

Aug 19 2015 // A 50-year-old Jacksonville, Florida, man has been sentenced to six years in prison for staging car crashes. The Florida Attorney’s Office announced Monday that Guillermo de la Vega pleaded guilty earlier this month...

NYC Taxi Driver-Owners Form New Association to Take on Uber

Aug 14 2015 // Dozens of angry, independent taxi medallion owners in New York City have been making their opinions about Uber heard at City Hall. The newly formed Taxi Driver-Owner Association said Wednesday that the rapid growth of the...

New N.J. Law Emphasizes Traffic Safety to Young Drivers

Aug 12 2015 // Applicants for a New Jersey driver’s license must answer whether they’re aware of the dangers of failing to follow traffic laws under a law signed by New Jersey Acting Gov. Kim Guadagno. Guadagno signed the...

U.S. Safety Board Focuses on Driver Fatigue in Tracy Morgan Crash

Aug 11 2015 // A Wal-Mart Stores Inc. driver who struck a limo van carrying comic Tracy Morgan last year had been awake for 28 hours and worked almost 14 hours at the time of the accident, U.S. investigators found. The National...