Driving, Mobile | featured news

...There’s little doubt that motorists want more connectivity, despite the worrisome traffic statistics. But many experts are betting that so-called connected car technologies can be put to work reducing the number of accidents, injuries and deaths on America’s roadways.

California Friday legalized hands-free texting and email while driving using voice-operated technology, with Governor Jerry Brown signing Assembly Bill 1536 into law. It takes effect Jan. 1.

Bright, outgoing college teen Taylor Sauer proved in the last minutes of her life she knew right from wrong — but still committed a fatal mistake. Sauer was making a late-night, four-hour drive from the Utah State University campus in Logan to visit her folks in Caldwell, Idaho. She passed the time along I-84 messaging a pal on Facebook about the Denver Broncos football team. But she stopped short, writing in her final missive, "I can't discuss this now. Driving and facebooking is not safe! Haha."

With three antsy kids in the back, a husband resistant to bathroom breaks, and spotty cellphone coverage along the route, it's easy to think flying would be easier. If it weren't for that pesky TSA, the checked baggage fee, and having to pay for five airplane tickets, flying would be a no-brainer.

The growth of cell phones with global-positioning technology is making life uncertain for the makers of personal navigational devices that help drivers figure out where they are and where to go....