Latest Personal Auto Headlines

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

Number of Young Ohioans Getting Driver’s License Drops

Oct 22 2014 // Fewer young people in Ohio are getting their driver’s license, according to state data and new research. The number of licensed drivers in Ohio ages 16 to 20 is 8.5 percent lower than 10 years ago, The Columbus...

Record Aviation Claims Driving Up Premiums

Oct 21 2014 // Insurers worldwide are going to have to pay up to a record $800 million to cover the damage done by attacks on airplanes this year, driving prices up and drawing rivals into the market. The hefty bill dwarfs the $60-$90...

Large Agencies More Optimistic About Future Growth: Vertafore Study

Oct 17 2014 // Optimism over the future growth potential of independent agencies ties closely to the size of the independent agency, with larger agencies feeling more optimistic about future growth than their smaller counterparts,...

Police Nab 316 Distracted Drivers on Phones in Dover, Delaware

Oct 16 2014 // Police in Dover, Delaware, have doled out more than 300 tickets to distracted drivers for texting and talking on their cell phones. The 316 tickets were part of a 12-day blitz that ended Sunday, Oct. 12, and eclipse the...

Utah School Bus Driver Allegedly Under Influence on Field Trip

Oct 15 2014 // A Utah school bus driver was arrested Monday on suspicion of DUI after driving erratically and nearly hitting a car on a busy stretch of highway while taking 67 elementary-school students on a field trip, authorities...

Tuscaloosa Police Warn Uber Drivers

Oct 8 2014 // City officials in Tuscaloosa say they’ve informed representatives of the Uber ridesharing service that drivers will soon face arrest unless the company complies with the city’s demands. Tuscaloosa police Sgt....

Deer-Related Car Crashes Declined in Ohio in 2013

Oct 7 2014 // Ohio officials say the number of reported deer-related car crashes in the state decreased in 2013. The Ohio Department of Public Safety says about 20,200 deer-vehicle crashes were reported last year. That’s nearly...

Burned Armpit Hair Caused Idaho Car Crash

Oct 6 2014 // A SUV full of teenagers crashed in Idaho in September after one of the passengers lit the driver’s armpit hair on fire with a lighter, authorities said. All five young people in the Ford Bronco were hurt in the crash...

Kansas Court Ruling on Drivers Applies to Old Practice, FedEx Says

Oct 5 2014 // FedEx Corp. said a ruling by the Kansas Supreme Court that, under state law, its drivers are employees rather than independent contractors applies to a business practice it hasn’t been using since 2011. The company...

Dover, Delaware to Target Drivers Using Handheld Cellphones

Oct 3 2014 // For the first time, Dover, Delaware, police are using a team of officers to target drivers who text and talk on the road. The department says that despite many campaigns to spread awareness that it’s illegal to use...

N.J. Red-Light Cameras Lose Support as Drivers Gripe Over Robotics, Glitches

Oct 2 2014 // New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is leaning toward eliminating red-light cameras after a five-year test was fraught with glitches and gripes, even as data showed fewer crashes at intersections with the equipment. A pilot...

NYC Cracking Down on Unsafe Taxi Drivers as Part of ‘Vision Zero’ Campaign

Oct 1 2014 // New York City is cracking down on unsafe taxi drivers. The Taxi and Limousine Commission issued 5,000 safety-related summonses so far this year. That’s a 95 percent increase from last year. The New York Post reports...

Truck Driver: Distraction a Factor in Fatal Oklahoma Crash

Sep 30 2014 // The driver of a tractor-trailer that crashed into a bus and killed four college students on Interstate 35 in southern Oklahoma told investigators he was distracted. Russell Staley, 53, of Saginaw, Texas, was traveling...

New Michigan Law Lets Uninsured Drivers Do Community Service

Sep 25 2014 // Gov. Rick Snyder has signed a law allowing drivers who owe extra “responsibility” fees for certain offenses to do 10 hours of community service instead. The option would apply for drivers assessed $400 in fines...

Idaho Car Crash Caused by Burned Armpit Hair?

Sep 19 2014 // A SUV full of teenagers crashed in Idaho after one of the passengers lit the driver’s armpit hair on fire with a lighter, authorities said Wednesday. All five young people in the Ford Bronco were hurt in the crash...

Alabama City Employs Sting Operation on Uber Drivers

Sep 19 2014 // Tuscaloosa, Alabama police are using undercover operations to nab drivers with the Uber ride-sharing service. Police said Wednesday a two-night sting last week resulted in a 50-year-old Mississippi woman getting tickets...

Fraud Costs Michigan Drivers $220M a Year

Sep 18 2014 // Auto insurance fraud costs Michigan drivers more than $220 million a year, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson announced while unveiling a set of 17 legislative and regulatory anti-fraud recommendations offered by the Fighting...

Next up to Test Self-driving Cars on California Roads: Mercedes-Benz

Sep 18 2014 // Mercedes-Benz has followed Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit in getting a license to test self- driving vehicles on California roads as the luxury-car makers vie for a market predicted to grow to $87 billion by...

Prop. 103 vs. Self-driving Cars Revving up in California

Sep 17 2014 // Way back in 1988 it probably seemed like the idea of self-driving vehicles was about as far off as flying cars or hovercraft. That was the year California voters enacted Proposition 103, giving among other things an...

Drivers in California Must Give Bikes 3-Foot Buffer

Sep 17 2014 // Californians will now need to take extra care to steer clear of cyclists. Under statewide regulations taking effect Tuesday, drivers must give bikes a buffer zone of at least 3 feet while passing. Cited violators will face...