Latest Personal Auto Headlines

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

Auto Safety Regulators Looking into Complaint from Michigan Tesla Driver

Nov 15 2021 // U.S. auto safety regulators are looking into a complaint from a Tesla driver that the company’s “Full Self-Driving” software caused a crash.The driver was beta testing the “Full Self-Driving”...

COP26 Climate Agreement Targets Fossil Fuels as Key Driver of Global Warming

Nov 15 2021 // GLASGOW – U.N. climate talks ended Saturday with a deal that for the first time targeted fossil fuels as the key driver of global warming, even as coal-reliant countries lobbed last-minute objections.While the agreement...

Buckle Up for Bucks: Kansas, Missouri Drivers on Alert for Deer

Nov 5 2021 // Officials in Kansas and Missouri are urging drivers to be especially cautious this time of year as collisions with deer become more frequent.The Kansas City Star reports that cooler weather and shorter daylight hours mean...

Michigan Drivers to See Insurance Refunds After Pressure From Governor

Nov 5 2021 // All insured Michigan drivers will be getting refunds due to a $5 billion surplus in a fund that reimburses insurers medical and other costs for people seriously injured in crashes.The Michigan Catastrophic Fund...

Verisk Acquires Driver Data Company

Nov 3 2021 // Verisk Analytics, the global data analytics firm, has acquired North Carolina-based Data Driven Safety to expand its automobile insurance underwriting data business, Verisk announced.Data Driven Safety, founded in 2009 and...

Russia Tech Giant Yandex Uses AI to Reward Safe Drivers With Insurance Discounts

Nov 2 2021 // Russian tech giant Yandex plans to reward responsible drivers on its car-sharing platform with cheaper insurance this year, it told Reuters, using machine learning in a pilot program similar to one already adopted by...

Whitmer: Michigan Drivers Should Be Reimbursed for $5B Surplus

Nov 1 2021 // Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called on the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA) to return surplus funds to insured drivers in a Nov. 1 letter written to the nonprofit’s executive director R. Kevin...

Hylant, Obsidian Launch Program for Restaurant Delivery Drivers

Nov 1 2021 // Hylant, a Toledo, Ohio-based insurance brokerage, has launched RoadPilot, a “pay as you go” hired non-owned program designed for the restaurant home food delivery industry.RoadPilot is an app-based technology...

Commentary: Does Personal Auto Policy Cover STDs?

Nov 1 2021 // You may have heard and even laughed about GEICO being sued by a Missouri woman who contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD) as a result of unprotected sex in a GEICO-insured vehicle. Beyond the sheer inventiveness...

U.S. Trucking Sector Struggles with Rising Rates, Driver Shortage

Nov 1 2021 // U.S. commercial auto insurers continue to face disruptions on their road to profitability due to inflation and the spotty post-pandemic economic recovery, according to a Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings...

Safety Head Criticizes Tesla Over Its Release of New Self-Driving Software

Oct 26 2021 // The head of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board on Monday criticized electric carmaker Tesla Inc.’s decision to provide new self-driving software to vehicle owners without addressing safety concerns that...

Citing Software Issues, Tesla Pulls Latest Full Self-Driving Beta

Oct 25 2021 // U.S. electric car maker Tesla Inc. on Sunday rolled back the latest version of its Full Self-Driving (FSD) beta software, less than a day after its release, after users complained of false collision warnings and other...

NTSB: Driver was Behind Wheel When Tesla Crashed Near Houston, Killing Two

Oct 25 2021 // A driver was behind the wheel when a Tesla electric car crashed and burned last April near Houston, killing two men, neither of whom was found in the driver’s seat.The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board...

Ford, Walmart and Self-Driving Startup Argo AI to Launch Autonomous Vehicle Delivery

Sep 20 2021 // Self-driving startup Argo AI, automaker Ford Motor Co. and Walmart Inc. will together launch an autonomous vehicle delivery service in Miami, Austin, and Washington, D.C, the companies said on Wednesday [Sept. 15].Initial...

Tech and Teen Drivers

Sep 20 2021 // As an insurance journalist and a parent with a 16-year-old son, soon to be on the roads, I know all too well the dangers that lie ahead when it comes to driving behavior. So much so I’m often advocating that he...

Dutch Court Rules Uber Drivers Are Taxi Employees, Not Contractors

Sep 13 2021 // Uber drivers are employees entitled to greater workers’ rights under local labor laws, a Dutch court ruled on Monday, handing a setback to the U.S. company’s European business model.It was another court victory...

Teen Drivers Might Benefit Most From Assisted Driving Technology: IIHS

Sep 9 2021 // Crash avoidance features and teen-specific vehicle technologies have the potential to prevent or mitigate up to three-quarters of fatal crashes involving teen drivers, a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety...

Users Want Self-Driving Vehicles That Drive Like They Do, Sort of

Sep 8 2021 // Do passengers want self-driving cars to mimic their personal driving behaviors or do they hold these autonomous vehicles to a different standard?Recent studies have shown that people have negative attitudes about using...

Amazon’s Solution to Delivery Driver Shortage: Recruit Pot Smokers

Sep 3 2021 // Amazon.com Inc. has a solution for a potentially crippling shortage of delivery drivers: Recruit pot smokers.The company is advising its delivery partners — the mom and pops that operate the ubiquitous blue Amazon...

Safety Regulator Reports 12th Tesla Autopilot Car Crash Involving Emergency Vehicle

Sep 2 2021 // U.S. auto safety regulators on Wednesday said they had identified a 12th crash involving Tesla Inc. vehicles using advanced driver assistance systems in incidents involving emergency vehicles and demanded the automaker...