All the headlines from our Personal Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Oct 6 2009 // A West Bath, Maine woman who crashed her vehicle into a telephone pole has been cited under the state’s new distracted driver law. The Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Department says Kandi Frame was talking on a...
Oct 5 2009 // Starting this month, 16- and 17-year-olds in Connecticut who are seeking a driver’s license will need to pass two written tests. The legislature is requiring the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to administer the...
Oct 5 2009 // Nearly one out of five U.S. drivers surveyed has read or sent a text message while behind the wheel, even though nearly all of the respondents in an AAA survey released Sept. 25 considered such action...
Oct 1 2009 // Opening a government meeting on auto safety, the Obama administration reported Wednesday that nearly 6,000 people were killed and a half-million injured last year in vehicle crashes connected to driver distraction, a...
Sep 29 2009 // A law that goes into effect Oct. 1 will prohibit Arkansas drivers from texting or sending e-mail from their handheld devices while driving.The Legislature passed the ban during the last session, calling it...
Sep 28 2009 // Nearly one out of five U.S. drivers surveyed has read or sent a text message while behind the wheel, even though nearly all of the respondents in an AAA survey released on Friday considered such action...
Sep 25 2009 // Safety investigators told federal regulators three years ago that it was dangerous for bus drivers to talk on cell phones while driving and recommended a ban.The National Transportation Safety Board put that recommendation...
Sep 24 2009 // Starting next month, all 16- and 17-year-olds in Connecticut who are seeking a driver’s license will need to pass an additional second written test, called the “DMV Final Exam,” under a recent law change...
Sep 21 2009 // Insurer-backed Californians for Fair Auto Insurance Rates (CalFAIR) is promoting a voter initiative that would reward drivers who have had insurance for some time with a “persistency discount,” even if they...
Sep 17 2009 // Democrats who control the Wisconsin Legislature promise to focus on cracking down on drunken driving this fall, among other priorities.The state Senate began its fall session Tuesday and the Assembly starts Wednesday. The...
Sep 15 2009 // Motorists would be forbidden to send text messages while behind the wheel under proposals awaiting legislative action in Kentucky early next year.Two lawmakers have filed bills that would add Kentucky to a growing list of...
Sep 9 2009 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes has laid out what she sees as the “fair” range of auto insurance premium increases for those drivers insured through the state’s residual market.In a...
Sep 9 2009 // A new state law in Oklahoma provides greater protection for children endangered by drunk drivers.Senate Bill 1139, by state Sen. Mary Easley and state Rep. Jeannie McDaniel, allows drunk drivers to face felony...
Aug 25 2009 // The New York State Insurance Department has posted a notice of proposed regulations for flexible-rating on personal auto insurance. Flex-rating, which allows insurers to set pricing within a certain premium range, was last...
Aug 20 2009 // At an event today kicking off a nationwide anti-drunk driving enforcement campaign, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood released a new study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that shows an...
Aug 18 2009 // Insurance Services Office (ISO) lists more than 100 endorsements available for use with the business auto policy (BAP) (the total number varies by state). Out of that heap of policy-altering endorsements, most designed to...
Aug 18 2009 // Many drivers over age 70 realize that their reaction time is slower so they naturally compensate by driving more carefully, says Matthew Romoser, who studies age-related physical and cognitive function and driving skills...
Aug 14 2009 // Dallas-based Gainsco Inc. announced net income for the second quarter 2009 increased to $1.6 million, compared with a second quarter 2008 net income of $1 million.Net income for the six months ended June 30, 2009 was $3.7...
Aug 12 2009 // New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson wants to put first-time drunken driving offenders behind bars for three days and fine them $2,500.Richardson also said that measures to be introduced during the next legislative session in...
Aug 5 2009 // The inattention of a tractor-trailer driver led to a wreck on the Will Rogers Turnpike that killed 10 people in June, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said in a report released Aug. 3.Investigators looking into the June 26...