Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
American Family Insurance and MTV Team Up for Teen Driver Series
Oct 20 2009 // Madison, Wis.-based American Family Insurance has partnered with MTV and Mindshare Entertainment to reach teenagers directly on an issue that can save their lives – the passage they must make from new, inexperienced...
Mississippi Witnessing Rise in Women Charged with Drunk Driving
Oct 19 2009 // After having drinks with friends one night, Kristina Tanner left in her car to buy someone a pack of cigarettes. On the way back, she was arrested for DUI — her second drunken-driving arrest within a...
Pressure Builds for More States to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving
Oct 19 2009 // Opening a Sept. 30 government meeting on auto safety, the Obama administration reported that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, a...
Pressure Builds for More States to Ban Cell Phone Use While Driving
Oct 19 2009 // The Obama administration reported that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, a striking indication of the dangers of using mobile devices...
Georgia Parent Pushes for Teen Driver Education Funds
Oct 14 2009 // A Georgia state law adopted in 2007 that required driver’s education for all 16-year-olds also created a way to help pay for it, but only 20 percent of funds collected under the program have been appropriated for its...
Do Cell Phone Bans Change Driver Behavior?
Oct 14 2009 // Phoning while driving and texting behind the wheel are in the news. This is the highway safety issue of the moment, the subject of cartoons and, on a more serious side, the focus of legislation. A key question is whether...
Oklahoma Panel to Study Texting And Driving Rules
Oct 9 2009 // A legislative panel in Oklahoma plans to investigate the potentially dangerous practice of texting while driving. Oklahoma currently has no state law against the use of cell phones while driving, according to the Insurance...
Texas Woman Sentenced in Distracted Driving Case
Oct 7 2009 // A state district judge in Texas has sentenced a woman to 30 days in jail, 10 years probation and ordered her to pay a $10,000 fine for criminally negligent homicide in connection with a case of “distracted...
Maine Woman Cited under New Distracted Driver Law
Oct 6 2009 // A West Bath, Maine woman who crashed her vehicle into a telephone pole has been cited under the state’s new distracted driver law. The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department says Kandi Frame was talking on a...
Connecticut Now Requires Two Written Tests for Teen Drivers to Get Licenses
Oct 5 2009 // Starting this month, 16- and 17-year-olds in Connecticut who are seeking a driver’s license will need to pass two written tests. The legislature is requiring the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to administer the...
Survey: 1 Out of 5 Drivers Admits to Texting While Behind the Wheel
Oct 5 2009 // Nearly one out of five U.S. drivers surveyed has read or sent a text message while behind the wheel, even though nearly all of the respondents in an AAA survey released Sept. 25 considered such action...
Driver Distraction Costs 6,000 Lives a Year; Many Teens
Oct 1 2009 // Opening a government meeting on auto safety, the Obama administration reported Wednesday that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, a...
Ban on Texting While Driving in Arkansas Starts Oct. 1
Sep 29 2009 // A law that goes into effect Oct. 1 will prohibit Arkansas drivers from texting or sending e-mail from their handheld devices while driving. The Legislature passed the ban during the last session, calling it...
AAA Survey: 1 Out of 5 Drivers Admits to Texting While Behind the Wheel
Sep 28 2009 // Nearly one out of five U.S. drivers surveyed has read or sent a text message while behind the wheel, even though nearly all of the respondents in an AAA survey released on Friday considered such action...
U.S. Safety Agency Eyes Cell Phone Use Ban for Bus, Truck Drivers
Sep 25 2009 // Safety investigators told federal regulators three years ago that it was dangerous for bus drivers to talk on cell phones while driving and recommended a ban. The National Transportation Safety Board put that...
Connecticut Adds Second Test for Teen Drivers
Sep 24 2009 // Starting next month, all 16- and 17-year-olds in Connecticut who are seeking a driver’s license will need to pass an additional second written test, called the “DMV Final Exam,” under a recent law change...
Calif. Ballot Measure Would Make Driver ‘Persistency’ Discount Portable
Sep 21 2009 // But Consumer Group Says Insurer’s Measure Would Harm More Than Help Insureds Insurer-backed Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates (CalFAIR) is promoting a voter initiative that would reward drivers who have had...
Wisconsin Democrats Promise Crackdown on Drunken-Drivers
Sep 17 2009 // Democrats who control the Wisconsin Legislature promise to focus on cracking down on drunken driving this fall, among other priorities. The state Senate began its fall session Tuesday and the Assembly starts Wednesday. The...
Kentucky Among States Considering Ban on Texting While Driving
Sep 15 2009 // Motorists would be forbidden to send text messages while behind the wheel under proposals awaiting legislative action in Kentucky early next year. Two lawmakers have filed bills that would add Kentucky to a growing list of...
Massachusetts Commissioner Caps Premium Increase for Riskiest Drivers
Sep 9 2009 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes has laid out what she sees as the “fair” range of auto insurance premium increases for those drivers insured through the state’s residual market. In a...
