5/18/2015 As mentioned in my last post, Google has just launched the first self-driving car onto public roadways near its California headquarters. This comes after the company recently admitted to the vehicles being involved in 11 minor accidents, with no injuries and little damage during 6 years of testing. These revelations confirm many people’s concerns
5/17/2015 Google’s self-driving cars have finally hit public roads as of Friday, May 15th around the company headquarters in Mountain View, California. This comes after 6 years of trials on test tracks and over a million miles of testing. Although working with automakers Lexus, Audi, and BMW, among others during the testing process, Google has
5/4/2015 Last week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill that incentivizes whistleblower complaints within the automotive industry. The bill, modeled off of similar measures for the Internal Revenue Service and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), allows the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to award up to 30 percent of revenue collected in excess of
General Motors won a massive legal victory to the dismay of many former customers when U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge, Robert Gerber ruled Wednesday, April 15th that the company can retain its bankruptcy shield protection of $10 billion for claims against it involving the massive ignition-switch recall. The ruling helps General Motors avoid potentially billions of
National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) Administrator, Mark Rosekind, has indicated that the nation’s top automotive regulator may take a more aggressive stance toward Fiat-Chrysler following a massive $150 million judgment against the company over the burning death of 4 year-old Remi Walden due to an exploding gas tank on his Aunt’s 1999 Jeep Grand
In the wake of the global auto industry facing an enormous amount of recalls and legal actions, the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has endured a sizeable amount of scrutiny in recent years. Some, including myself, have raised questions regarding lax testing standards, and allegations of cronyism between the agency and automakers. Given the
While the General Motors ignition switch recall has dominated recent automotive headlines, it has been far from the only major automaker to face recent massive legal challenges. Over 60 million vehicles were recalled in 2014, and the 80,000 complaints received was more than twice the previous record set in 2004. Each of the top 8
A Supreme Court hearing that began Monday regarding personalized Texas license plates will likely reignite the debate over protected speech and could potentially redefine the ways that governments collect revenue. Like many states, Texas offers drivers the opportunity to purchase specialty plates advertising causes or non-profit groups. Many groups pay the state to produce the
The Federal Highway Administration recently gave passing grades to the ET-Plus guardrail in four recent crash tests; however, both the agency and embattled manufacturer, Trinity Industries, are now facing an even higher degree of scrutiny. The ET-Plus passed despite the final test causing a sizeable gash in the driver’s side door, causing extensive damage to
Though most car accident claims are settled before a trial, some cannot be. Sometimes, it isn’t clear who caused the accident. Other times, it is clear who caused the accident but there is disagreement over a fair settlement. Every state’s court system is different, but the general process is fairly similar. The case will most