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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: driving

driving stories: 73 news summaries

21 - 40 of 73 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 4 Next >>

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 DMVs: Please Stop Smiling 


May 26, 09 5:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Four states are demanding that motorists stop saying cheese when they get their driver's license photo, and more may follow suit, reports USA Today. It's not the grinch patrol. Smiles can interfere with technology used to make sure people don't apply for illegal licenses, say officials in Arkansas, Indiana, Nevada,... More »

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Arkansas • Indiana • Virginia • photograph • driving • Nevada • driver's license • smiling

ANALYSIS

Are Americans Falling Out of Love With Cars?

Drop in driving could be delayed reaction to gas prices—or not: Silver

May 6, 09 4:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - Is the fact that Americans are driving less even after the cost of gas has come down a sign that US attitudes are changing, Nate Silver asks in Esquire—or is it just another example of how slowly they respond to changes in fuel prices? “The real test,”... More »

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Detroit • automaker • driving • Seattle • statistics • Big Three • US automakers • automobile • car culture

 Forget Hybrids: Just 
 Drive Like Your Grandma 

Americans can save gas just by driving differently: Ball

Apr 17, 09 9:29 AM CDT
(Newser) - Driving like a grandma can save more gas than fancy hybrid technology, Jeffrey Ball writes in the Wall Street Journal. Accelerating slowly, shifting gears early, and coasting to avoid stop-and-go driving can bump gas efficiency of even the largest gas guzzlers. The catch? "I've been honked at. I've... More »

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fuel efficiency • Nissan • driving • hybrid car • gas consumption

(Newser) - What's Italian for "leadfoot"? A Milanese man going 168mph was busted on four separate highway cameras in less than hour, ANSA reports. He was driving for his employer, whose lawyers argue that he should be responsible for just one infraction. They said they also plan to cite a... More »

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crime • Italy • camera • speeding • driving • highways • speed traps

Jail for UK Driver Who Texted Before Fatal Accident

Woman who slammed into victim at 70 mph said phone wasn't involved

Feb 2, 09 3:04 PM CST
(Newser) - A UK woman who sent more than 20 text messages while driving before crashing into a stopped car and killing another motorist has been sentenced to 21 months in jail, the Times reports. Philippa Curtis, 21, said she was not using the phone when she plowed into Victoria McBryde at... More »

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crime • car accident • jail • driving • text message • Britain • texting • driver distraction

 Want a Traffic Ticket?
 Buy a Hummer 

Drivers of burly SUV 4.63 times more likely than average to get in trouble with law

Jan 21, 09 11:29 AM CST
(Newser) - Hummers and Scion’s tC top a list of cars most likely to receive moving violations, the Los Angeles Times reports. A study links tickets to size and power—the Hummer is one of the biggest “cars” on the road—and driver age, which applies to the Scion, marketed... More »

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study • driving • moving violations • Scion • Hummer • tickets

(Newser) - California is beefing up its distracted-driving laws, DailyTech reports, with a ban on adults texting while at the wheel going into effect Jan. 1. The state instituted a hands-free law in July, at the same time prohibiting teen drivers from texting and driving; the new law extends to adults, and... More »

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California • driving • texting • driver distraction • hands-free cell phone

Inauguration
Will Overwhelm DC Transport

Even if only 1M show, expect 'a lot of walking, a lot of waiting'

Dec 15, 08 9:04 AM CST
(Newser) - If you’re one of the 2 million to 4 million expected to converge on Washington for Barack Obama’s inauguration, be warned: Neither public transportation nor local roads will be able to handle the influx, the Washington Post reports. With road restrictions and packed subways, “it’s going... More »

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overcrowding • driving • public transportation • inauguration • President Obama • Inauguration Day

Early On, Holiday Travel Going Smoothly

Few delays reported on roads, airports at start
of Thanksgiving rush

Nov 26, 08 11:53 AM CST
(AP) - Travelers breezed through airport terminals and drivers cruised open roads today, the effects of a sour economy blamed for keeping people closer to home at the start of the annual Thanksgiving rush. Even though gas prices fell and airlines offered last-minute deals, many Americans appeared to be skipping trips this... More »

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airport • driving • air travel • credit crisis • Thanksgiving • Thanksgiving travel • economy • financial crisis

Teen Critical
After Jumping From Moving SUV on Dare

200 Ill. teens played the stunts-for-cash game

Nov 25, 08 12:36 PM CST
(Newser) - An Illinois grand jury is investigating a scavenger hunt that left a 17-year-old in critical condition after he jumped from a Dodge Durango moving at 25mph. As many as 200 teenagers were apparently competing for cash by performing stunts and videotaping them last Friday. Erik Nava's team was winning the... More »

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high school • Illinois • driving • game • stunts • teenager • Elgin

Jury Stuck on Britney's State

Traffic trial hinges on whether star counts as Californian or Louisianan

Oct 18, 08 4:57 AM CDT
(Newser) - The jury in Britney Spear's traffic trial couldn't reach a verdict yesterday and has retired for the weekend to ponder whether the LA resident counts as a California girl, the Los Angeles Times reports. Spears' lawyer argues the singer, charged with driving without a valid California license, doesn't need one... More »

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Britney Spears • California • jury • driving • singer • Lousiana

(Newser) - A new software technology can automatically disable cell phones moving at car speeds, augmenting laws already in place forbidding their use while driving, RealTechNews reports. The developer, Canada's Aegis Mobility, is partnering with Nationwide insurance to offer discounts to adopters. Aegis still needs carrier support but expects the software to... More »

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cell phones • driving • car safety • handsets • phone software • automobile

California Bns Txtng
While Driving

Reading, sending texts will cost motorists $20

Sep 25, 08 1:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - California has become the latest state to outlaw text messaging while driving, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Motorists will be fined a minimum of $20 the first time they are caught reading or writing an electronic message behind the wheel, and $50 for any subsequent offenses. More »

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California • cell phones • Arnold Schwarzenegger • driving • text message • texting • drivers • driver distraction

Immigration Cut in Half
in 2007, Census Shows

Economy may have been factor in slowdown

Sep 23, 08 9:32 AM CDT
(Newser) - The number of immigrants to the US dropped by half in 2007, with 511,000 new arrivals, compared with about a million every year since 2000, new Census data reveal. Foreign-born numbers fell in 14 states, including longtime entry points like New Jersey and areas newly popular among immigrants, the... More »

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immigration • global warming • population • driving • Carpoolers • Census data

 Time to Raise Driving Age?


Sep 9, 08 8:06 PM CDT
(Newser) - Is 16 too young to drive? A safety group today began a push to encourage states to follow the lead of Japan, China, Russia, and most of Europe by raising the legal age to 18, the Detroit Free Press reports. Car crashes are the leading cause of death for youths... More »

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driving • highways • driver's license • teenage drivers • teenager • automobile • Insurance Institute of Highway Safety

High Gas Prices Mean Fewer Traffic Deaths

People are changing where, when,
and how they drive

Aug 25, 08 11:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - The number of traffic deaths may drop this year to their lowest since Kennedy was president—thanks in large part to higher gas prices, the AP reports. As they rose above $3.20 a gallon, fatalities plummeted 22.1% in March and 17.9% in April, a study found. The... More »

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driving • gas prices • car safety • fatalities • teenage drivers • traffic accident • traffic fatalities

 Motorcycle Deaths Rise 6.6%

Overall traffic deaths down but motorbike deaths up for 10th year in a row

Aug 15, 08 8:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - The number of motorcyclist deaths rose in 2007 for the 10th year in a row, the New York Times reports, jumping 6.6% even as the overall number of vehicle deaths continued to drop. Motorcycle deaths now account for one in eight traffic fatalities, totaling 5,154 last year—a... More »

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highway safety • accident • driving • motorcycle crash • road safety • traffic accident • drivers • traffic fatalities

In 200 Yards,
Tell Your GPS to Shut Up Already

Developers finally realize personality as important as function

Aug 5, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - GPS voices, for all their helpfulness to drivers, are still obnoxious and humorless. Now, after years of focusing on packing “navbots” with information, developers are realizing that friendliness counts, too, the Washington Post reports. “Personality, from an engineering perspective, is still an afterthought,” one says. “But... More »

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driving • navigation • GPS • cars

 US Driving Continues to Brake 

Americans drove 29.8B fewer miles through May '08 than same span in '07

Jul 28, 08 2:57 PM CDT
(Newser) - Driving in the United States continued to drop, the Washington Post reports, with May marking the steepest dip in vehicle-miles traveled for that month in the 66 years statistics have been tallied. Americans drove 9.6 billion fewer miles in May 2008 than May ’07; in the first five... More »

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driving • public transportation • gas tax • cars • telecommuting

 GM Developing 
 Futuristic Windshield 

Looking forward to an aging driver, tech would compensate for poor eyesight

Jul 17, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - America’s driving population is aging, and GM aims to do something to help older motorists: develop a high-tech windshield that compensates for declining eyesight, the AP reports. The system, now in the research phase, uses lasers and infrared sensors to identify hazards in the road—or perhaps the edge... More »

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elderly • General Motors • driving • auto technology • car safety • automobile • head-up display

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