Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Colorado Immigrant Advocates Plan Driver’s License Push
May 23 2012 // Immigrant advocates in Colorado want public support for allowing illegal immigrants to seek licenses to drive. The activists say they will seek a ballot measure to change a law that requires proof of legal residency to be...
Vt. Police to Conduct Sobriety Checkpoints, Identify Impaired Drivers
May 22 2012 // Vermont State Police and other law enforcement agencies have begun conducting sobriety and vehicle safety checkpoints within Caledonia and Essex counties. Between Sunday, May 20, and June 3, an aggressive effort will be...
Vermont Motorist Texts While Driving, Crashes Into Police Cruiser
May 21 2012 // Vermont police say a 33-year-old motorist was distracted while writing a text message on his cellphone when he crashed into a police car. Vermont State Police say Jesse Clayton crashed into a Rutland police cruiser at...
Mass. AG Coakley Seeks to Close Loophole in State’s Drunk-Driving Law
May 21 2012 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and state lawmakers are seeking to close a loophole in the state’s drunk-driving law (Melanie’s Law) that was brought to light in a recent court...
Kentucky Program Aims to Catch Uninsured Drivers
May 21 2012 // Kentucky drivers could see their car registrations cancelled and they could be charged with insurance fraud if they are found to be operating a vehicle without the proper insurance. Under current law, Kentucky drivers must...
Survey: Young Drivers Know Risks But Text Anyway
May 21 2012 // Most young American drivers agree that it is dangerous to text while driving, but nearly a third admit they do it anyway, a survey by Consumer Reports shows. While eight in 10 said they knew of the risks, about 29 percent...
North Carolina Cost Drivers Studied
May 21 2012 // North Carolina had higher income benefit payments per claim among 16 states in a recent study, slower return to work resulting in longer duration of temporary disability, and larger lump-sum settlements than in many study...
Keeping Teen Drivers Out of Trouble
May 21 2012 // May is National Youth Traffic Safety Month, and it’s the perfect time to remind teen drivers about safety behind the wheel. The number of teen driving deaths continues to fall and is now at an all-time low....
Marijuana Driving Limits Again Poised For Colorado
May 16 2012 // A marijuana blood-level limit for drivers is once again poised for approval in Colorado – after two previous attempts to pass the bill failed. The Colorado House gave initial approval late Monday to a bill setting a...
Massachusetts Drivers See Insurance Rates Rise
May 16 2012 // Massachusetts drivers are starting to see higher auto insurance rates, four years after they tumbled when the state opened the market to more competition. Many of the state’s largest auto insurers have raised rates...
Naked Unicyclist in Texas Charged with Distracting Drivers
May 16 2012 // Police say a man arrested in a Southeast Texas city for riding his unicycle in the nude was distracting drivers and creating a hazard. Kemah police Chief Greg Rikard says 45-year-old Joseph Glynn Farley was not intoxicated...
R.I. Court Rules on Designated Drivers’ Liability
May 14 2012 // Rhode Island’s Supreme Court has ruled that designated drivers are not responsible for what their drunken passengers do after giving them rides. Last Thursday’s ruling involved a 2005 crash in Scituate that...
Future Vision: Will Driving Become Too Safe to Insure?
May 8 2012 // What would happen to the auto insurance industry if automobile safety improves to the point that vehicle collisions become relics of the past? That’s the question explored by global consulting and research firm,...
Young Drivers Know Risks But Text Anyway: Survey
May 8 2012 // Most young American drivers agree that it is dangerous to text while driving, but nearly a third admit they do it anyway, a survey by Consumer Reports shows. While eight in 10 said they knew of the risks, about 29 percent...
Jury Awards $24M to Woman Hit by Driver in Texas on Phone
May 7 2012 // A Corpus Christi jury awarded $24 million to a woman who was hit by a Coca-Cola truck driver who was chatting on her cellphone. The jury decided to give 37-year-old Vanice Chatman-Wilson $10 million in punitive damages and...
N.J. Judge to Decide If Text Sender Liable for Car Crash
May 7 2012 // A New Jersey judge will likely soon decide whether a woman who sent a text message to a male friend can be held liable for a car crash he caused while reading the message. The Daily Record reports the legal question stems...
Transportation Chief Calls for National Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving
May 7 2012 // U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has called for a federal law to ban talking on a cell phone or texting while driving any type of vehicle on any road in the country. Tough federal legislation is the only way to...
West Virginia Driver Data Access Eased
May 7 2012 // Individuals in West Virginia involved in a traffic accident will soon be able to access the other driver’s insurance coverage before filing a lawsuit under a new disclosure law. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed into law...
Mass. AG Coakley Advises Teenagers: Don’t Text While Driving
May 4 2012 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and officials from across the country are advising teen drivers to be mindful of the dangers of texting while driving. A texting driver is 23 times more likely to get into an...
New Law Increases Drunk Driving Penalty in Oklahoma
May 3 2012 // Under legislation recently signed into law in Oklahoma, a drunk driver who caused an accident resulting in great bodily harm could face a maximum of 10 years in prison. House Bill 2568, by state Rep. Harold Wright,...
