Latest Personal Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Entrepreneur Shuts Startup After U.S. Questions Safety of Self-Driving Kit
Oct 31 2016 // Self-driving cars are getting closer by the day, but they won’t be coming from hacking phenomenon George Hotz. Hotz, the first person to jailbreak an iPhone and a vagabond of the world’s top tech companies, has...
UK Uber Drivers’ Court Victory Over Pay Could Rejigger Gig Economy
Oct 31 2016 // Uber Technologies Inc. lost a lawsuit over pay and vacation time for U.K. drivers at the car-sharing service in a ruling that could change how workers are treated in the country’s burgeoning gig economy. Three London...
Startup Auto Insurer Root Targets Good Drivers with Smartphones
Oct 25 2016 // Root officially debuted in the U.S. market on October 25. The fledgling auto insurer, just 18 months old, relies on telematics and a customer’s smartphone to deliver what it says will be significantly cheaper rates...
Court in Arkansas Reverses Drunken Driving Conviction over Checkpoint
Oct 25 2016 // The Arkansas Supreme Court has overturned a man’s driving while intoxicated conviction, agreeing with the state Court of Appeals that it resulted from an unconstitutional sobriety checkpoint. Justices reversed Jeremy...
This Bud’s for Uber’s Self-Driving Truck Road Test
Oct 25 2016 // A tractor trailer full of beer drove itself down Colorado’s I-25 last week with nobody behind the wheel. Uber Technologies Inc. and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV teamed up on the delivery, which they said is the first time...
New Mexico Driver’s License Revamp Draws Fresh Criticism
Oct 21 2016 // New Mexico officials ran into fresh criticism Tuesday about revisions to the state’s immigrant driver’s license law at a public hearing on the proposed regulations. The Department of Taxation and Revenue has...
California Rules for Self-Driving Cars Draw Objections from Google, Automakers
Oct 20 2016 // Alphabet Inc.’s Google unit and automakers objected on Wednesday to California proposals to set new, mandatory rules for testing self-driving cars in the state, which industry officials said could hobble their...
Teens Who Use Phones While Driving Also Prone to Other Risky Behaviors
Oct 18 2016 // American teens who use their smartphones when they’re behind the wheel are also more likely to participate in other dangerous driving behaviors, like speeding, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or...
Toyota Has Issues with California’s Plans for Self-Driving Safety Check List
Oct 12 2016 // A Toyota Motor Corp. official is raising concerns about California’s plans to require compliance with a planned U.S. autonomous vehicle safety check list, calling it “preposterous.” Hilary Cain, director...
Older Teen Drivers Remain High Risk for Crashes Despite Graduated Licensing Laws: Report
Oct 12 2016 // While states have made progress in reducing teen driver-involved traffic crashes and deaths over the past decade, teen drivers are still 1.6 times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than their adult counterparts,...
How Self-Driving Cars Will Make Motorcycles Safer
Oct 11 2016 // Self-driving technology promises to pretty much transform the auto industry as we know it. It may also change the business of selling motorcycles—but in a very different way. It all comes down to safety, according to...
Drugged Driving Leading Cause of Road Deaths in Tennessee
Oct 6 2016 // Drugged driving has overtaken drunken and distracted driving as a factor in Tennessee traffic fatalities. Citing an analysis of Tennessee Highway Patrol data, The Tennessean reports the number of deaths from crashes with...
State Farm Reminds Alabama Drivers to Watch Out for Deer
Oct 4 2016 // Alabama motorists are getting a costly reminder to look out for deer while driving. State Farm, Alabama’s largest auto insurer, says in a statement that there were 28,794 insurance claims connected to deer collisions...
What Drivers Need in Order to Avoid Crash If Autonomous Systems Fail
Oct 4 2016 // People operating self-driving cars need at least six seconds and some cues from the vehicle to “get back in the loop” and take control in time to avoid an accident, researchers say. There are already partially...
California School Creates Degree for Self-Driving Car Engineers
Oct 3 2016 // Auto and tech companies are in a race to get self-driving cars to the public, but as with many cutting-edge technologies, there aren’t enough trained engineers to meet the demand for talent. So Mountain View,...
Sit Down for This One: Self-Driving Chair Takes Stress Out of Waiting in Line
Sep 28 2016 // Japanese car maker Nissan has designed a self-driving chair for those who can’t stand standing in line waiting to get into their favorite restaurant, concert, motor vehicle office or other popular venue. The...
Former California Rideshare Driver Charged with Assaulting Multiple Passengers
Sep 23 2016 // A former driver for Uber and Lyft has been charged with sexually assaulting several women while on the job, and Southern California investigators said that there are likely more victims. An 18-year-old college student...
AAIS Files New Standardized Personal Auto Program Nationwide
Sep 22 2016 // American Association of Insurance Services (AAIS), a national not-for-profit insurance advisory organization governed by its member companies, announced the filing and approval of a new standardized Personal Auto Program...
Seattle Techies Seek Ban on Human Drivers on Stretch of I-5
Sep 20 2016 // If you have nightmares about robots taking over the world, here’s something that might really scare you: some tech industry veterans in Seattle want to ban human drivers from a 150-mile stretch of Interstate 5 and...
What’s Driving Reinsurance Growth: Aon
Sep 19 2016 // Reinsurance demand has increased over the past 18 months, with the cession ratio across the global property/casualty insurance industry registering a small rise for the first time in several years, and the trend expected...
