Latest Personal Auto Headlines

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

Federal Safety Agency Shuts Down Self-Driving School Bus Test

Oct 23 2018 // The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Monday said it had ordered Transdev North America to immediately stop transporting school children in Florida in a driverless shuttle, as the testing could be putting...

How States Are Battling Distracted Driving

Oct 22 2018 // Like many diligent public servants, Georgia state Representative Ed Setzler enjoys crowing about a nice, tidy highway project. In a Sept. 8 Facebook video, the Republican appeared to be doing just that from behind the...

London’s Biggest Private Taxi Firm Aims to Roll Out Self-Driving Cars by 2021

Oct 22 2018 // A fleet of autonomous taxis could roll onto the streets of the U.K. capital within three years, after one of London’s biggest private-hire taxi companies struck a deal with a maker of autonomous vehicle...

NTSB: Texas Driver’s Drug Use Led to Deadly Church Bus Crash

Oct 19 2018 // A motorist’s use of marijuana and a sedative led to a collision with a church bus that killed 13 people on the bus, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a report released on Oct. 16.According to the...

Uber Driver Charged with Kidnapping New York Woman

Oct 18 2018 // An Uber driver in New York City kidnapped a woman who fell asleep in his vehicle, groped her in the back seat and then left her on the side of a highway in Connecticut, federal authorities said Tuesday.Harbir Parmar, 24,...

National Safety Board Calls for Standards for Drugged Driving Tests

Oct 18 2018 // U.S. transportation safety officials are sounding the alarm on drug-impaired driving, calling for state and federal regulators to do more to tackle the growing problem as states grapple with prescription drug abuse and...

How to Make Self-Driving Cars Safer on Roads with Humans

Oct 18 2018 // As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Congress press for removing safety regulations in order to fast-track the introduction of highly automated vehicles, human factors/ergonomics experts are...

Insurer Group Hammers Claim that California Prop 103 Saved Drivers Billions

Oct 17 2018 // The insurance industry is taking exception to a new report commemorating the 30th anniversary of one of California’s primary auto insurance laws that claims the law has saved drivers billions of dollars.The Consumer...

Fatal Car Crashes Fell 2% in 2017; 2018 Appears to Follow Trend

Oct 15 2018 // Final U.S. highway fatality numbers for 2017 are down following two consecutive years of large increases. In addition, preliminary estimates for the first six months of 2018 appear to show that this downward trend...

UK Self-Driving Startup Oxbotica Appoints Former Uber Executive to Board

Oct 10 2018 // Oxbotica, a U.K. startup whose self-driving vehicle software will help guide the European Space Agency’s Mars rover, has appointed former Uber executive Fraser Robinson to its board.Robinson served as the...

Autonomous Driving Hype Now at ‘Peak Absurdity,’ Claims Auto Dealer Group Leader

Oct 10 2018 // The auto industry is a long way from seeing autonomous vehicles and ride-hailing companies put an end to traffic deaths and personal car ownership, according to one of the top U.S. auto dealers.“We have reached peak...

Michigan Court Rules No Liability for Bank in Wrong-Way Driver’s Crash

Oct 9 2018 // The Michigan appeals court says a bank can’t be blamed for a crash that occurred when a confused driver went the wrong way in suburban Detroit.Frank Scola was a 7-year-old passenger when his mother turned the wrong...

It’s Not Easy to Teach Robot Drivers to Think Like Humans

Oct 9 2018 // Robot cars make for annoying drivers.Relative to human motorists, the driverless vehicles now undergoing testing on public roads are overly cautious, maddeningly slow, and prone to abrupt halts or bizarre paralysis caused...

Insurance Industry in Best Position to Advance Consumer Trust in Automated Driving

Oct 9 2018 // While the race to automated vehicles picks up speed, a new survey reveals consumer are skeptical of the technology and the safety claims of its advocates, a new survey finds.Also, the insurance industry may be in the best...

Uber Conducting Background Checks on Colorado Drivers Under Settlement

Oct 4 2018 // Uber has implemented a number of safety measures, including annual background checks on its drivers in Colorado, as part of a proposed settlement with the state.The Denver Post reports the Colorado Public Utilities...

OptOn Offering On-Demand Insurance for Illinois Rideshare Drivers

Oct 4 2018 // OptOn has launched its mobile, on-demand, commercial insurance product for rideshare drivers in Illinois.The company said the mobile app provides short-term primary insurance coverage for rideshare drivers across all...

Fatal Car Crashes Fell 2% in 2017; 2018 Appears to Follow Trend

Oct 4 2018 // Final U.S. highway fatality numbers for 2017 are down following two consecutive years of large increases. In addition, preliminary estimates for the first six months of 2018 appear to show that this downward trend...

Bus Driver Found Guilty in Citi Bike Death in New York

Oct 3 2018 // The driver of a charter bus that fatally struck an investment banker riding a Citi Bike in Manhattan last year, marking the first death involving the city’s bike-share program, was found guilty of failing to yield...

Fatal Drunk-Driving Crash Rate High in Northwest Indiana

Oct 1 2018 // A newspaper review has found that three northwestern Indiana counties have a higher percentage of fatal drunken-driving crashes than the rest of the state and the U.S. because of the region’s heavy traffic, weather...

Study Says New Haven Leads State in Distracted Driving Crashes

Sep 27 2018 // New Haven and Hartford, Conn., lead the state in distracted driving accidents, according to a new study.The Travelers Institute and the Connecticut Safety Research Center say between 2015 and the first half of 2018 there...