Latest Personal Auto Headlines

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

Holding a Phone While Driving Will Soon Be Illegal in Virginia

Dec 14 2020 // It will soon be illegal in Virginia to hold a phone while driving.WAVY-TV reported that the new state law takes effect in January. Authorities say that making the practice illegal and enforceable is an important step...

Uber Asks States to Prioritize Delivery, Rideshare Drivers for COVID Vaccine

Dec 10 2020 // Uber Technologies Inc. on Thursday sent letters to the governors of all U.S. states, asking for its ride-hail and food delivery drivers to get early access to COVID-19 vaccines as essential workers.The company also said it...

Authorities Target Rise in Road Rage, Aggressive Driving in Houston-Area

Dec 9 2020 // Houston-area authorities on Dec. 8 announced a new task force to combat a more than 30% rise in road rage incidents this year, an increase that officials are blaming in part on the ongoing stress during the coronavirus...

Automakers Unveil Steps for U.S. to Speed Up Self-Driving Vehicle Deployment

Dec 3 2020 // A group representing major automakers is unveiling a detailed proposal Wednesday aimed at making it easier to deploy thousands of self-driving vehicles in the coming years, according to a document seen by Reuters.The...

Report: Despite Less Driving, Auto Fatalities Have Risen in Wisconsin

Dec 2 2020 // Auto fatalities are up in Wisconsin despite there being fewer people on the road due to the coronavirus pandemic, a report released on Dec. 1 by the Wisconsin Policy Forum found.The report examined state crash data from...

New Mexico Cracking Down on Drunken Drivers

Nov 30 2020 // New Mexico authorities will be cracking down on drunken drivers throughout the month of December.State police issued the warning this week, saying sobriety checkpoints will be set up around the state. Officers also will be...

Texas Reported 925 Traffic Deaths Involving Unbuckled Drivers, Passengers in 2019

Nov 19 2020 // While the majority of Texans, around 91%, use seat belts while driving or riding as a passenger in moving vehicles, too many unbelted people continue to die in traffic accidents, the state’s transportation department...

Despite Warnings and Laws, Drivers Continue to Be Distracted by Phones

Nov 18 2020 // Despite education programs and state laws, phone-based driving distraction is still on the rise—and is likely responsible for far more accidents than widely reported, says a new study from Cambridge Mobile Telematics...

Crisis Within a Crisis: How COVID-19 Is Driving the Opioid Epidemic

Nov 16 2020 // While the current national health conversation has largely centered on the COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in more than 200,000 deaths in the U.S. alone and more than a million worldwide according to recent World...

Alabama Warns of Fake Drivers License Renewal Sites

Nov 13 2020 // Alabama law enforcement officials on Tuesday cautioned people to beware of third-party websites when they renew their driver license online.The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said in a news release that some third-party...

Vertafore Reveals Potential Breach of Texas Driver Information

Nov 13 2020 // Denver, Colo.-based insurance information technology company, Vertafore Inc., says a potential breach has occurred of data involving information about anyone who was issued a driver’s license in Texas prior to...

Reduced Driving Turns Into Fewer Injuries and Workers’ Compensation Claims

Nov 10 2020 // The COVID-19 pandemic comes with one bright spot for workers’ compensation insurers: Fewer workers are being injured in motor vehicle accidents.A research brief issued by the National Council on Compensation...

California Voters Back Ballot Measure Treating Gig Drivers as Contractors

Nov 8 2020 // Uber, Lyft and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services spent $200 million in a winning bet to circumvent California lawmakers and the courts to preserve their business model by keeping drivers from becoming...

Liability, Safety and Infrastructure Concerns Slow Development of Self-Driving Cars

Nov 5 2020 // Tesla recently made headlines with the beta launch of its Full Self-Driving system. That system comes with a disclaimer saying, “It may do the wrong thing at the worst time, so you must always keep your hands on the...

Waymo Issues Self-Driving Car Incident Score Card for Phoenix Area

Oct 30 2020 // Self-driving tech company Waymo, which this month opened its driverless taxi service in the Phoenix suburbs to the public, on Friday said its autonomous vehicles there had been involved in 18 minor incidents since 2019...

NTSB Investigating Tennessee Bus Crash that Killed Child, Driver

Oct 30 2020 // Federal and state authorities on Wednesday investigated a crash between a school bus carrying 24 children and a utility vehicle that killed the bus driver and a 7-year-old girl in eastern Tennessee.Eight other children...

Florida Driving School Suspended for Providing Answers to License Test

Oct 29 2020 // A Florida driving school was suspended after investigators said it was providing correct answers to people taking a written driver license test, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles announced last...

GM’s Cruise on Top in Consumer Reports Safety Ratings of Driving Assistance Systems

Oct 29 2020 // General Motors Co.’s Super Cruise once again edged Tesla’s Autopilot in an evaluation of 17 vehicles equipped with active driving assistance systems (ADAS) by Consumer Reports, the testing organization said on...

Lawsuit Alleges Uber Uses ‘Biased’ Rider Ratings to Fire Drivers

Oct 27 2020 // Uber Technologies Inc. was accused in a lawsuit of violating the U.S. Civil Rights Act by firing minority drivers based on how they’re rated by customers.“Uber is aware that passengers are prone to discriminate...

Safety Regulator Vows to ‘Closely Monitor’ New Tesla Self-Driving Software

Oct 23 2020 // The U.S. auto safety regulator said on Thursday it was closely watching Tesla Inc.’s release of a software version intended to allow its cars to drive themselves, saying it stood ready to protect the public against...