Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Females More Likely Than Males to Engage in Distracted Driving
Jul 10 2018 // People who text while driving are six times more likely to be involved in a car crash while those who talk on a mobile device while driving increase their crash risk more than two times. Yet many drivers are still willing...
Michigan Appeals Court Rules for Driver in Car Wash Fall
Jul 6 2018 // The Michigan appeals court is breaking new legal ground – at a self-serve car wash. In a 2-1 decision, the court ruled that a woman who fell while washing her car can seek payment for her injuries from her car insurer....
NYC Drivers for Uber, Other Apps to Get Vision Care Coverage
Jul 2 2018 // Drivers for car services and ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft are usually on their own when it comes to buying health insurance, but starting Sunday in New York they will now be able to get coverage for vision care as...
Rising Homeowners Losses Hurt P/C Insurers: Fitch
Jul 2 2018 // Personal lines underwriting losses rose in 2017 for the fourth year in a row, Fitch Ratings found in a new report. There’s a twist, however. In the three years prior to 2017, personal auto insurance contributed...
Flooding in Virginia Closes Airport, Traps Several Drivers
Jun 25 2018 // Officials say flooding and severe weather in Virginia have closed the state capital’s airport and trapped some motorists. Richmond International Airport tweeted that it was closing due to flooding for several hours...
Saudi Women Finally Hit the Road as Driving Ban Ends
Jun 25 2018 // They hit the road in celebratory packs, whooping and ululating for joy. Teenagers gathered on Riyadh’s main boulevard to gawk. Men cracked jokes about how lucky they were to no longer have to chauffeur their wives...
Police Say Uber Driver Was Streaming Hulu Before Self-Driving Car Crash in Arizona
Jun 22 2018 // Police in Tempe, Arizona said evidence showed the “safety” driver behind the wheel of a self-driving Uber was distracted and streaming a television show on her phone right up until about the time of a fatal...
Boston Approves NuTonomy Self-Driving Car Testing Citywide
Jun 22 2018 // A self-driving car company is getting the green light to test its vehicles on a Colonial-era street network with a reputation for aggressive human drivers. Boston city officials announced Wednesday that they’ve...
Self-Driving Waymo Part of 5-Vehicle Crash in Arizona
Jun 19 2018 // Mesa police say a self-driving vehicle was among five cars involved in a collision, but no serious injuries were reported. The driver of the Waymo vehicle told authorities that the car wasn’t in autonomous mode at...
Despite New Law, Nebraska Not Expected to See Self-Driving Cars Soon
Jun 18 2018 // Nebraska lawmakers may have cleared the way for companies to test self-driving vehicles with a law passed earlier this year, but don’t expect a large number to hit the streets anytime soon. Although industry...
Rising Homeowners Losses Hurt P/C Insurers in 2017: Fitch
Jun 18 2018 // Personal lines underwriting losses rose in 2017 for the fourth year in a row, Fitch Ratings found in a new report. There’s a twist, however. In the three years prior to 2017, personal automobile insurance contributed...
Driver Had Hands off Wheel in Fatal Tesla Autopilot Crash
Jun 18 2018 // The driver of a Tesla Inc. Model X car using Autopilot did not have his hands on the steering wheel in the six seconds before a fatal crash in California in March, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said earlier...
Arizona Launches Driver Safety Campaign for Monsoon Season
Jun 13 2018 // A new safety campaign will remind Arizona drivers stuck in dust storms to pull over, turn off all car lights and wait until visibility is back before hitting the road again. The “pull aside, stay alive”...
Driver Had Hands off Wheel in Fatal Tesla Autopilot Crash in California
Jun 7 2018 // The driver of a Tesla Inc. Model X car using Autopilot did not have his hands on the steering wheel in the six seconds before a fatal crash in California in March, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said...
Georgia Bans Use of Handheld Devices While Driving
Jun 4 2018 // Georgia is the latest state to ban the use of handheld devices while behind the wheel. Gov. Nathan Deal signed H.B. 673 into law on May 2, making Georgia the 16th state to ban using a cellphone, including texting, shooting...
State Farm to Cut Personal Auto Rates by 3% in Alabama
Jun 4 2018 // Approximately 950,000 State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. personal auto insurance customers in Alabama will see rate reductions starting this month, according to the nationwide insurance company. Thanks to the...
Uber Ends Self-Driving Program in Arizona Following Fatality
Jun 4 2018 // Uber has shut down its self-driving car operation in Arizona two months after a fatal crash involving one of its vehicles, the company said last month. Uber Technologies Inc. is not shuttering its entire autonomous vehicle...
Policymakers Take On Distracted Driving Nationwide
Jun 4 2018 // Over the course of several decades, auto crash rates and fatalities had been on the decline. This reduction offset slightly increased crash severity and helped to moderate the cost of auto insurance. However, starting in...
Marijuana, Opioids Found in High Percentage of Drivers Killed in Car Crashes
May 31 2018 // More than half of drivers killed in car accidents who were tested for drugs had marijuana, opioids or a combination of the two in their system, according to a new report. The report from the Governors Highway Safety...
Tesla Hits Parked Police Vehicle in California, Driver Blames Autopilot
May 30 2018 // The driver of a Tesla Inc. Model S crashed into an unoccupied, parked police vehicle in Laguna Beach, Calif., on Tuesday and the driver told investigators the Tesla was in “Autopilot” mode at the time, police...
