Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Safety Groups Argue Curtailing Impaired Driving Requires Moving Beyond Fines, Jail Time
Dec 9 2019 // Efforts to curtail impaired driving and related accidents by repeat offenders on the road should address the underlying problems prompting the unsafe behavior, according to a new report from state highway officials and the...
Tesla Driver Who Hit Two Cars in Connecticut Says He Used Autopilot
Dec 9 2019 // The driver of a Tesla says the car was on autopilot when it struck a police cruiser and a disabled vehicle on Saturday in Connecticut, according to State Police. State Police said troopers responded to Interstate 95...
Fitch Sees Stronger Commercial Lines But Weaker Auto, Work Comp Results Coming
Dec 6 2019 // The U.S. property/casualty insurance sector should see small improvements in underwriting profits in 2019 and 2020, thanks largely to commercial lines price increases, Fitch Ratings predicts in a new report. But personal...
Video Shows Lyft Driver Dragging Woman from Car in California
Dec 2 2019 // Los Angeles police say they’ve cited a Lyft driver for misdemeanor battery after video showed him dragging a passenger out of a car. Alessandra Ward says she suffered a black eye, bruises and a possible concussion...
Oregon High Court Rules .09% Not Enough to Convict for Drunken Driving
Nov 27 2019 // The Oregon Supreme Court has ruled that a driver whose blood alcohol content registered .09% nearly two hours after he was stopped should not have been convicted of drunken driving. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the...
Video Shows Lyft Driver Dragging Woman from Car in California
Nov 22 2019 // Los Angeles police say they’ve cited a Lyft driver for misdemeanor battery after video showed him dragging a passenger out of a car. Alessandra Ward says she suffered a black eye, bruises and a possible concussion...
Groups Seek Consensus on What to Call Newfangled Driver Assistance Technologies
Nov 20 2019 // Four consumer and safety organizations—AAA, Consumer Reports, J.D. Power and the National Safety Council—are urging all organizations, automakers and the media to adopt standardized naming for advanced driver...
U.S. Safety Agency Faults Uber, Driver in Probe of 2018 Autonomous Car Crash Death
Nov 20 2019 // A U.S. safety agency on Tuesday faulted Uber for inadequate attention to safety and decisions in the company’s autonomous vehicle development in an investigation into the first-ever death involving a self-driving...
Texas On-Demand Delivery Service Now Providing Commercial Auto Insurance to Drivers
Nov 19 2019 // Favor, the Texas-based on-demand delivery service, is now providing its entire Runner community of over 80,000 contract delivery drivers with commercial automobile liability insurance coverage during every active delivery...
Connecticut Woman Sues Uber After Driver’s Sexual Assault
Nov 19 2019 // A Connecticut woman who says she was sexually assaulted by her Uber driver last year has filed a lawsuit against the ride-sharing app. The Middletown Press reports the lawsuit filed by the 22-year-old woman in Milford...
A Passion for Learning Is a Driving Force for J.M. Wilson’s Galecka
Nov 18 2019 // One of the things Kristy Galecka loves about the property/casualty insurance industry is that there’s always an opportunity to learn something new. Like many others, Galecka “fell into” the insurance...
Fixing Ride-Hailing Will Take Fewer But Better Drivers, More Money: Viewpoint
Nov 13 2019 // Your mother probably told you never to get in a car with a stranger. The multibillion-dollar global ride-hailing industry depends on your ignoring her. If they want to earn that trust, though, companies need to rethink the...
Uber’s Self-Driving Car That Killed Pedestrian Lacked Tech to Detect Jaywalkers
Nov 7 2019 // Uber Technologies Inc.’s self-driving test car that struck and killed a pedestrian last year wasn’t programmed to recognize and react to jaywalkers, according to documents released by U.S. safety...
New Oklahoma Law Allows Use of School Bus Cameras to Ticket Drivers
Nov 6 2019 // New legislation in Oklahoma that allows law enforcement to use cameras on school buses to track down drivers who illegally pass stopped buses went into effect on Nov. 1. House Bill 1926, by Rep. Dell Kerbs (R-Shawnee) and...
More than 5K Minnesota Motorists Cited for Using Cellphones While Driving
Oct 28 2019 // State officials say more than 5,000 citations have been issued to drivers in Minnesota since a hands-free law took effect in August. The new law makes it illegal to use a cellphone while driving. Department of Public...
Idaho City Bans Handheld Phone Use While Driving
Oct 28 2019 // One of the largest cities in Idaho has banned the use of a hand-held phone while driving. Meridian’s city council approved the ordinance last week, prohibiting the use of hand-held devices any time a vehicle is in a...
New Jersey Woman Critically Hurt in Car Crash Receives $4.5M Settlement
Oct 18 2019 // A New Jersey woman who was permanently injured in a crash last year with a volunteer firefighter answering a fire call has settled a lawsuit for $4.6 million. NJ.com reports that 56-year-old Melinda Baker, of Manuta,...
U.S. Safety Board Wants to Learn Cause of Fatal Uber Autonomous Car Crash
Oct 18 2019 // The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will hold a Nov. 19 hearing to determine the probable cause of a March 2018 Uber Technologies Inc. self-driving vehicle crash that killed a pedestrian in Arizona. The...
Florida Law Banning Cellphones While Driving in School, Construction Zones Takes Effect
Oct 2 2019 // Better keep your hands off that cellphone if you are driving near a school or through a construction zone in Florida. As of Tuesday, it is against the law to hold a cellphone while driving in those places. Florida earlier...
Des Moines, Iowa, to Pay $90K to Settle Suit Over Man Killed by Fleeing Driver
Sep 30 2019 // Des Moines, Iowa, will pay $90,000 to settle a lawsuit over the death of a man killed when the vehicle he was driving was struck by a car being chased by police. The City Council has approved settling the October 2017...
