Latest Personal Auto Headlines

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

Ford, Walmart and Self-Driving Startup Argo AI to Launch Autonomous Vehicle Delivery

Sep 20 2021 // Self-driving startup Argo AI, automaker Ford Motor Co. and Walmart Inc. will together launch an autonomous vehicle delivery service in Miami, Austin, and Washington, D.C, the companies said on Wednesday [Sept. 15]. Initial...

Tech and Teen Drivers

Sep 20 2021 // As an insurance journalist and a parent with a 16-year-old son, soon to be on the roads, I know all too well the dangers that lie ahead when it comes to driving behavior. So much so I’m often advocating that he...

Dutch Court Rules Uber Drivers Are Taxi Employees, Not Contractors

Sep 13 2021 // Uber drivers are employees entitled to greater workers’ rights under local labor laws, a Dutch court ruled on Monday, handing a setback to the U.S. company’s European business model. It was another court...

Teen Drivers Might Benefit Most From Assisted Driving Technology: IIHS

Sep 9 2021 // Crash avoidance features and teen-specific vehicle technologies have the potential to prevent or mitigate up to three-quarters of fatal crashes involving teen drivers, a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety...

Users Want Self-Driving Vehicles That Drive Like They Do, Sort of

Sep 8 2021 // Do passengers want self-driving cars to mimic their personal driving behaviors or do they hold these autonomous vehicles to a different standard? Recent studies have shown that people have negative attitudes about using...

Amazon’s Solution to Delivery Driver Shortage: Recruit Pot Smokers

Sep 3 2021 // Amazon.com Inc. has a solution for a potentially crippling shortage of delivery drivers: Recruit pot smokers. The company is advising its delivery partners — the mom and pops that operate the ubiquitous blue Amazon...

Safety Regulator Reports 12th Tesla Autopilot Car Crash Involving Emergency Vehicle

Sep 2 2021 // U.S. auto safety regulators on Wednesday said they had identified a 12th crash involving Tesla Inc. vehicles using advanced driver assistance systems in incidents involving emergency vehicles and demanded the automaker...

Georgia Officers to Train to Draw Blood From Drivers Suspected of DUI

Aug 25 2021 // A new grant will be used to train Georgia law enforcement officers to draw blood from drivers suspected of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, state officials said. The Georgia Governor’s Office of...

Today’s Teens Are in No Rush to Start Driving

Aug 9 2021 // Michael Andretti has a 21-year-old son with zero interest in obtaining a driver’s license. Rideshare apps get him where he wants to go. In New Jersey, the 16-year-old daughter of a local short track racer took a...

N.M. Gas Stations Can Be Sued for Selling to Drunken Drivers

Aug 3 2021 // Gas station retailers are reeling from a recent New Mexico Supreme Court decision that finds the stores can be held civilly liable for selling gas to intoxicated drivers. The July ruling could have major ramifications for...

21 Rental Mopeds Seized for Unsafe Driving on Block Island

Jul 21 2021 // Police on Block Island seized 21 mopeds after their drivers were seen operating them unsafely and in violation of their rental contracts over the weekend. New Shoreham, Rhode Island, police said in a release Monday that an...

California Drivers Charged After Text Messages Detail Alleged Fraud Scheme

Jul 19 2021 // Maricela Pantjoa Vidrio, 31, of Fairfield, Calif., and Areshma Kiran, 35, of Sacramento, Calif., were charged on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly conspiring to misrepresent the facts following an...

Q&A: Have Drivers Gotten Worse Since COVID?

Jul 16 2021 // As the restrictions around COVID-19 are lifted, and more and more people hit the road to return to their work spaces and routines, there has been a familiar refrain: “People have forgotten how to drive.” Is it...

California Drivers Charged After Text Messages Detail Alleged Fraud Scheme

Jul 8 2021 // Maricela Pantjoa Vidrio, 31, of Fairfield, Calif., and Areshma Kiran, 35, of Sacramento, Calif., were charged on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud after allegedly conspiring to misrepresent the facts following an...

New Louisiana Law Creates Rules for Self-Driving Delivery Robots

Jul 5 2021 // Louisiana has created a framework for self-driving delivery devices to drop off packages on the state’s streets, under a bill backed by lawmakers and Gov. John Bel Edwards. The new personal delivery device law...

Tesla Auto Caught Fire During Driving, Lawyer Alleges

Jul 2 2021 // A Tesla Inc. Model S Plaid electric vehicle burst into flames on Tuesday while the owner was driving, just three days after the $129,900, top-of-the-range car was delivered following its June launch, an attorney for the...

Uber to Pay $3.4M to Drivers in Seattle Gig Worker Leave Law Settlement

Jun 25 2021 // Uber has agreed to pay more than $3.4 million to 15,000 drivers after making mistakes related to Seattle’s pioneering paid sick leave law covering gig workers. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Seattle City Council in...

Despite Less Driving During 2020 Pandemic, Traffic Deaths Were Highest In 13 Years

Jun 21 2021 // Even though Americans drove less in 2020 due to the pandemic, early estimates of crash fatalities from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reveal the largest...

Waymo in California Getting $2.5B to Fuel Self-Driving Ambitions

Jun 18 2021 // Waymo, the self-driving car pioneer spun off from Google, isn’t allowing a recent wave of executive departures to detour its plans to expand its robotic taxi service. The Mountain View, California, company made that...

New Louisiana Law Creates Rules for Self-Driving Delivery Devices

Jun 18 2021 // Louisiana has created a framework for self-driving delivery robots to drop off packages on the state’s streets, under a bill backed by lawmakers and Gov. John Bel Edwards. The new personal delivery device law...