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Uber Adds Safety Features to App, Strengthens Driver Background Checks

Uber will start doing annual criminal background checks on U.S. drivers and hire a company that constantly monitors criminal arrests as it tries to do a better job of keeping riders safe. The move announced Thursday is one of several …

Tesla Withdraws From NTSB Crash Probe Over Autopilot Data Flap

Tesla Inc. withdrew from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation of a fatal accident involving one of its vehicles, an unusual move that followed public statements by the company blaming the driver and breaching the agency’s protocols. “Tesla withdrew …

Colorado Work Zone Deaths Skyrocket in 2017

A recent report says work zone fatalities in Colorado have skyrocketed. The Gazette reports a study by the Colorado Department of Transportation says the 2017 death toll in work zones was 15, compared with seven in 2016 and 2015 and …

Thousands Cited for Slow Left-Lane Driving Under New Virginia Law

Watch out! If you’re being a slowpoke in the left lane in Virginia, you may be fined. Thousands of people have been cited since Virginia implemented a law setting penalties for driving too slowly in the left lane of a …

Mississippi Governor Orders 83 Deficient Bridges Closed

Republican Gov. Phil Bryant on Tuesday ordered the Mississippi Department of Transportation to immediately close 83 locally maintained bridges that the federal government says are in bad shape. “These bridges have been deemed unsafe for the traveling public,” Bryant said …

Asbestos-Laden Talc Products Verdict Means J&J, Imerys Owe Millions

Johnson & Johnson and a talc-mining company were ordered by jurors to pay $80 million in punitive damages for hiding that their products, including J&J’s iconic baby powder, had been tainted by asbestos and posed a cancer risk. The New …

USA Gymnastics Sues Insurers Amid Nassar Sex Abuse Lawsuits

USA Gymnastics is suing its insurance carriers, alleging that they haven’t fully reimbursed it for defense costs incurred in lawsuits filed by victims of disgraced former sports doctor Larry Nassar. The Indianapolis-based governing body for gymnastics filed its lawsuit against …

AI-Related Liability Considerations

The recent deadly crash of an Uber autonomous car in Arizona highlights the evolving risk related to artificial intelligence (AI). A newly released report by Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty, The Rise of Artificial Intelligence: Future Outlook and Emerging Risks, …

Ohio High Court to Decide If Ex-Player Can Sue Over Concussions

The Ohio Supreme Court will decide whether the widow of a former University of Notre Dame football player can sue the school and the NCAA over allegations her husband was disabled by concussions from his college career in the 1970s. …

Researcher Says Autonomous Vehicles Are Traveling the Wrong Road to Safety

The current method of programming autonomous vehicles may not be safe, according to Aviral Shrivastava, a computer science associate professor in Arizona State University’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. “Google, Uber and others in the field are using humans …

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