Archive for the ‘Accidents’ Category

Navigation systems using GPS seem to be behind a whole host of bad behavior. They lead BMW drivers to the brink of cliffs, and now they're causing truck drivers in New York State to drive into bridges.

The engineering magazine IEEE Spectrum reports that GPS devices are directing truckers, especially out-of-state drivers unfamiliar with the region, onto limited-access parkways that ban commercial traffic and have bridges too low for modern tractor-trailer rigs.

The New York State Department of Transportation cites more than 1,400 truck-into-bridge accidents over the past 15 years, with the vast majority of them on the Hutchinson River Parkway...

Many police departments around the U.S. impound the cars of drivers caught behind the wheel without a license.

But starting Sunday, San Francisco plans to abolish that policy, calling it unfair to illegal immigrants.

Mayor Gavin Newsom, police chief George Gascón, and supervisor David Campos (himself a former illegal immigrant) all agree that impounding cars is particularly punitive for undocumented aliens, who are unable get licenses under California law.

Instead, police will give any license-less driver time to call a friend or relative to come drive the car away. The driver will still be cited for driving without a license, however, and...

On Friday, the Center for Auto Safety petitioned NHTSA to initiate a defect investigation that could potentially cover hundreds of thousands of Jeep Grand Cherokee SUVs from model years 1993 through 2004.

According to the group, on these older Grand Cherokee models, the plastic fuel tank actually extends below the bumper, so it's more vulnerable to being punctured in an rear-end or rollover accident. The rear sway bar link bolt is just over an inch away from the tank, according to research from the Motor Vehicle Fire Research Institute (MVFRI), and could puncture the tank in a crash.

"The design is so bad that Chrysler frequently settles...