Earlier this month, we told readers that April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month across California. All this month, the California Highway Patrol and local law enforcement agencies have been cracking down (more than usual) on texting and other cellphone use behind the wheel. Safety advocates have also been trying to educate the public about the […]

Most drivers are surprisingly predictable. For example, if you knew what signs to look for, you could identify a driver at risk for nodding off at the wheel with relative ease. If your car could identify certain signs, it might be able to stop you from making hazardous choices, or at least warn you ahead […]

In light of the year of record auto recalls in 2014, it should come as no surprise that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received a fair amount of criticism. When major scandals about automotive defects become public, it seems as though NHTSA officials always say they were aware of problems but did not […]

In our increasingly corporate and technological world, attention is a precious resource. There’s no question that advertisers are competing for our attention, but it is also being taken by our electronic devices. At certain times – like when you’re behind the wheel of a car – stolen attention can be a very dangerous thing. California […]

If you’ve spent any time driving in California, you’ve seen it. If you’re a motorcyclist you’ve probably done it. We are speaking, of course, about lane splitting. The practice of allowing motorcyclists to drive in between lanes of cars during traffic congestion is unique to California. It is not legal in any other state. In […]

People who live here in the Bay Area are no doubt familiar with Google’s project to develop self-driving cars. You may have even seen the quirky-looking vehicles making test drives on streets throughout the area. Since the project began, the Google fleet of more than 20 vehicles has cumulatively traveled more than 1.7 million miles. […]

Although it is only May, there have been a number of high-profile, fatal crashes between trains and automobiles this year. The United States has thousands of “grade crossings,” where train tracks and roads intersect at ground level. While some are well marked and have high visibility, there are far too many crossings so poorly maintained […]

Last year was a record-setting year for auto recalls. Although the General Motors ignition switch scandal was the most prominent story, dozens of automakers issued recalls for safety defects in their own vehicles. There were more vehicles recalled in the U.S. in 2014 than during any other year since the invention of the automobile. But […]

With the major auto recall scandals of the past year, it is easy to forget about earlier events that dominated the news just a few years ago. Perhaps the most notable was the Toyota recall related to sticking pedals and issues of “sudden, unintended acceleration.” The first cases to make headlines involved devastating car accidents […]

Travel by rail has long been a transportation option in the United States, but use of trains has not been widespread. For most of the past century, the automobile has been king, largely thanks to an impressive highway system and the cost effectiveness of mass production. Here in California, light rail trains have come into […]