Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
| Subscribe to Newser's RSS feeds RSS | Follow Newser on Twitter Twitter

NEWS ABOUT: motorists

motorists stories: 12 news summaries

 Bad Driving Is in the Genes 

Study says 30% can't help being lousy on the roads

Oct 29, 09 4:37 PM CDT
(Newser) - Certain people—perhaps up to 30% of the population—may be fated by their genetic makeup to be bad drivers, a new study suggests. Researchers tested a small group of people on a driving simulator and found that subjects with a particular gene variant weren't so hot at keeping up... More »

MORE ABOUT:
motorists • genetic modification • brain • genes • driving • multiple sclerosis

(Newser) - Every time a cop pulls someone over, he or she is liable to hear an excuse. And every so often, a driver manages to surprise even the most jaded ticket-writer, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Like the pair of Frenchmen one officer caught speeding on Highway 101. They’d... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • motorists • police • highways • traffic violation • excuses • traffic stop • speeding ticket

 Next Recession Victim: 
 Highway Rest Stops 

Drivers left crossing their legs as states close pit stops to save cash

Jul 3, 09 7:00 AM CDT
(Newser) - The pit stops along American highways are starting to go the way of the Pony Express as states slash their budgets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some states argue that the mushrooming of gas stations and motels at interstate exits make the rest stops obsolete, but American Automobile Association officials... More »

MORE ABOUT:
motorists • interstates • driving • highways • Interstate system • women's issues

(Newser) - “Beer bikes”—party vehicles that combine two of Amsterdam's favorite things—are under scrutiny after two recent accidents involving the gizmos, Reuters reports. Each large conveyance seats 10 peddlers at a central bar while a non-drinker steers. “This beer bike is completely legal,” said a transport... More »

MORE ABOUT:
weird • alcohol • motorists • drinking • Amsterdam • Holland • bicycle • traffic accident • beer bike

 Huge Pipe Break 
 Traps DC-Area Drivers 

Boats used for rescue as 4-foot-deep, frigid water gushes around cars in Md. suburb

Dec 23, 08 9:46 AM CST
(AP) - Rescuers in helicopters scrambled to pull motorists from frigid floodwaters unleashed by a massive water pipe break this morning on a commuter road just outside Washington. TV images showed two people in a minivan climbing into a basket lowered from a helicopter overhead. Rescuers also used a boat to save... More »

MORE ABOUT:
water • motorists • flood • Bethesda, MD • rescue • Washington, DC • drivers • pipelines

 Gov. Vetoes Ban 
 on 'Lap Dog 
 Driving' 

Calif. motorists can still tool around with Fido at the wheel

Sep 29, 08 2:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Californians can keep driving with pets on their laps since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a bill that would have banned such behavior, reports the Sacramento Bee. The "Paris Hilton Bill," as it was named by conservatives, was one of 95 measures that the Terminator terminated over... More »

MORE ABOUT:
pets • California • motorists • Arnold Schwarzenegger • veto • animal

Romo a Hero for Stranded Couple

Cowboys QB stops to fix Dallas couple's flat after a long day crushing Cleveland

Sep 12, 08 7:20 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tony Romo took down the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, then rescued the Whites in Dallas on his way home, People reports. Car after car passed Bill and Sharon White, stuck on the roadside at midnight with a flat tire and a busted jack. But when one finally stopped to help,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
motorists • Dallas Cowboys • Cleveland Browns • Tony Romo • Jessica Simpson

Road Deaths Drop as Gas Price Soars

Study estimates
$4 gas will prevent 1,000 deaths a month

Jul 12, 08 7:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - The record-breaking gas prices putting the squeeze on American drivers may be a lifesaver for some, reports the AP. Experts crunched 20 years of data and discovered that auto deaths fell 2.3% for every 10% hike in gas prices. When gas went up, people drove slower and bought safer... More »

MORE ABOUT:
motorists • speeding • driving • gas prices • road safety • teenage drivers • oil prices

Hands-Free Phones Still Dangerous Driver Overload

Scientists say any kind of phone use makes for risky driving

Jul 1, 08 7:33 AM CDT
(Newser) - California motorists are now banned from using cell phones, but scientists say the move won't make the freeways any safer, reports the Los Angeles Times. Research shows that it is the lack of attention rather than occupied hands that impacts safety, and that drivers chatting on phones with both hands... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • cell phones • motorists • highway safety • driving • neurology

 States to Motorists: Hang Up 

Number of tickets issued soars since states make talking a primary offense

Jun 27, 08 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - It might be time to get that hands-free cell: Tickets for phone use while driving are skyrocketing, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. States are increasingly making yakking behind the wheel a primary offense, meaning police can pull motorists over just for that. California and Washington next week join New York, Connecticut,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • cell phones • motorists • New Jersey • New York • Connecticut • driving

Freeway Shootings Rattle Los Angeles

Cops say troubling spate of firings is random violence

Apr 1, 08 8:12 AM CDT
(Newser) - A string of freeway shootings in Los Angeles County is causing more jitters than usual on its jam-packed arteries, the Los Angles Times reports. Windows of six cars were shot out by a mystery sniper wielding a BB gun yesterday, the day after a driver died from a possibly self-inflicted... More »

MORE ABOUT:
California • motorists • road rage • Los Angeles • highways • shooting • highway patrol • highway shootings

Vatican: Thou Shalt Not Speed

Holy See issues '10 commandments' for motorists

Jun 19, 07 2:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - The pope wants you to slow down, watch your language, and pray while on the road—and not by taking the Lord's name in vain when you get cut off. The Vatican issued "10 Commandments" for motorists today, reiterating the familiar prohibition against killing and adding new guidelines for... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Catholic Church • motorists • traffic • road rage • Vatican • driving • commandment

12 Stories


from our news partners