On Wednesday, David Teater of the National Safety Council delivered an important address at the national Fleet Safety Conference in Illinois. The topic of the address was the use of cell phones while driving. Now most of our readers are aware of the problem of cell phone use among regular motorists, but perhaps not quite as aware of the problem among commercial drivers.
Denver train vs. car accident leaves 2 dead
When you are driving in Denver and approach railroad tracks when a train is near, lights flash to warn you and a crossbar will fall on either side of the tracks to prevent traffic from moving through. Depending on where the tracks are located, some trains will even sound their horn to warn drivers that they are coming. Despite these precautions, train accidents still occur, and a recent Denver accident has likely shaken up the lives of many.
New law allows immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses, obtain car insurance
Last week, Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law the Colorado Road and Community Safety Act, a bill that permits temporarily documented and undocumented noncitizen residents to obtain a Colorado driver’s license. The license issued under the law can only be used to drive in the state of Colorado, and cannot be used for federal identification, voting or public benefit purposes.
NHTSA urges caution with endorsement of fully automated vehicles
By now, most of our readers have probably heard of Google's famous self-driving car and similar efforts to create such vehicles. These vehicles, to be sure, hold a lot of promise for the future of transportation, but also a good amount of uncertainty from an insurance and liability perspective. On Thursday, federal regulators with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration announced plans to look at the safety risks and benefits of self-driving vehicles over the next handful of years.
