Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
New Law Boosts Penalties for Drunk Driving in Oklahoma
Sep 9 2009 // A new state law in Oklahoma provides greater protection for children endangered by drunk drivers. Senate Bill 1139, by state Sen. Mary Easley and state Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, allows drunk drivers to face felony...
New York Regulators Post Rules for Flex-Rate Personal Auto
Aug 25 2009 // The New York State Insurance Department has posted a notice of proposed regulations for flexible-rating on personal auto insurance. Flex-rating, which allows insurers to set pricing within a certain premium range, was last...
Enforcement Stepped Up; Trends Show More Women Driving Impaired
Aug 20 2009 // At an event today kicking off a nationwide anti-drunk driving enforcement campaign, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released a new study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that shows an...
Four Commercial Auto Endorsements Every Insured Should Consider
Aug 18 2009 // Insurance Services Office (ISO) lists more than 100 endorsements available for use with the business auto policy (BAP) (the total number varies by state). Out of that heap of policy-altering endorsements, most designed to...
Elderly Drivers Found More Prone to Side-Impact Crashes
Aug 18 2009 // Many drivers over age 70 realize that their reaction time is slower so they naturally compensate by driving more carefully, says Matthew Romoser, who studies age-related physical and cognitive function and driving skills...
