Researchers looked at some of the studies that have already been conducted on driving under the influence of weed while also digging into actual car crash data. Its analysis showed that drivers smoking pot are about twice as likely to get into a crash as sober drivers. more ›

The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended that cell phone use while driving should be banned while driving. The NY Times reports, "The recommended ban applies to hands-free devices, a recommendation that goes further than any state law to date." more ›

A study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that texting while driving has only increased as states roll out laws meant to crack down on it. more ›

Not that we'd ever do this, but it's official: you can't use your cell phone while driving, even if you're stopped at a light. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that a state judge ruled against Richmond, CA motorist Carl Nelson, who was issued a $103 citation in December of 2009 for placing a call while waiting for a light to turn green. more ›

It's three years' probation for a young woman who took the life of an elderly pedestrian in Glendale last year while she used her cellphone to text message while behind the wheel. When then-20-year-old motorist Ani Voskanian of Tujunga was arrested in December for her role in the September, 2010 death of an elderly pedestrian, Glendale mayor Ara Najarian said their city was suffering from a "distracted driver epidemic." more ›

File this under Not at All Surprising: 84% of commuters in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana region drive themselves by car, truck, or van, between home and work. The data comes from an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 American Community Survey, reports the Los Angeles Business. Sheesh. No wonder we wigged the eff out about Carmageddon! more ›

Billy Joel may have asked if you were gonna cruise the Miracle Mile, but Wilshire isn't the only fun drive to take in town. Today's video lunch is a ride back in time, circa 1964, along the Sunset Strip. Booze billboards, restaurants, shops, and clubs line the streets, as proof of a rising and increasingly-crowded skyline hover to the side. Recognize anything? more ›

If the high price of filling up your tank is keeping you from going places in your car, Metro's CEO, Art Leahy, has a proposal for you. The transit agency is considering knocking a buck off the price of their Day Pass, bringing the price for a full day's worth of rides to $5. The decrease would go into effect July 1, and last six months, according to The Source. more ›

The numbers are in, and boy are we distracted. Distracted drivers, that is. The California Highway Patrol, working with 280 police and sheriff's departments, issued at least 2,187 citations over a two-day period for three kinds of distracted driving violations in Los Angeles County. The figures from the concentrated April 4-5 campaign are preliminary, cautions the CHP, since not all the involved agencies have reported their data from the effort. more ›

This month, law officials in the Inland Empire are cracking down on distracted driving, reports KABC. California Highway Patrol will be assigning teams of officers to focus specifically on drivers who are otherwise occupied while behind the wheel this Monday and Tuesday, and will do the same thing on April 19 and 20. If caught, drivers will be fined a minimum of $160. more ›

A 21-year-old college student was shot around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday morning near the Balboa Avenue exit of CA 163 while driving to the University of San Diego, according to officials, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. more ›

A section of Highway 1 collapsed into the ocean between Big Sur and Carmel on the Central Coast on Thursday. The section of road was closed on Wednesday following a landslide before a 40-foot chunk of it crumbled into the Pacific south of Rocky Creek Bridge. Check out the video... more ›

A 49-year-old man could face reckless driving charges after police spotting his Mazda going 30 mph in reverse for approximately three miles through central Glendale on Saturday, reports the Glendale News-Press. An off-duty officer reportedly spotted Gurgen Gukasyan at about 6 a.m. on North Glendale Avenue looking over his shoulder as he drove backward with his right arm on the passenger seat and his head turned. more ›

10% of drivers in Glendale engage in distracting and illegal activities according to a survey conducted by the Glendale Police Department, reports the News-Press. Posting a plainclothes police officer at the corner of Brand Boulevard and California Avenue this past Wednesday, Glendale officials found as many as a dozen motorists improperly using their cell phones in the span of just one minute. more ›

January 1 is right around the corner, and for California drivers, that means a slew of new laws go into effect. The California Highway Patrol sent out a reminder and details about all of the state's new traffic laws that will govern the roads and their drivers starting with the turn of the calendar. more ›

Drivers who telecommute or who keep their mileage to a minimum can soon opt to sign up for insurance plans that offer savings for driving less. California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced yesterday that two insurance providers, State Farm and the Automobile Club of Southern California, will implement new pay-as-you-drive insurance plans effective February 2011. more ›

The California Highway Patrol hopes everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday...but warns motorists in the Golden State that the extra-long holiday weekend happens to be a Maximum Enforcement Period (MEP). Between 6 p.m. Wednesday, November 24th, and 11:59 p.m. Sunday November 28th, the CHP will have all available officers on the lookout for motorists who are endangering themselves or other drivers on the road. They aren't just looking for drivers who take the wheel while under the influence of a bit too much holiday libation--the CHP is looking for people speeding and not wearing seat belts, too. more ›

So, does marijuana impair driving? That's the question City Attorney Carmen Trutanich wants to answer in his crusade against Prop 19, the November ballot initiative that seeks to legalize and tax marijuana in California. This week, Trutanich and the LAPD invited LA Times columnist Steve Lopez and... more ›

Owners of luxury sedans and coupes might want to tone it down a few Sammy Hagars. Turns out several models of swankmobiles made the recently released list of "most-ticketed cars on the road" according to MyFoxLA. more ›

Downtown Los Angeles may be a public transit mecca, but thousands still drive there to eat, drink and play. Starting next week, a program will encourage at least one person in a group to be the designated driver. And if they do, they can reap, not only the reward of being the good friend and saving lives, but also some free stuff. more ›

It's random timing, but on the heels of Glendale falling to the bottom of the "Best Drivers Report" and Los Angeles being named the second most stressful city in the country, comes this report about road rage. more ›

Plastic surgeon to the stars, Dr. Frank Ryan, lost his life Monday in an accident on PCH in Ventura County when his Jeep Wrangler went off the road and down a rocky embankment. Ryan, whose clientele includes the oft-altered Heidi Montag, had just climbed a sandy dune overlooking Malibu with his border collie, Jill. The doctor had used Twitter and TwitPic to send out messages about his adventure shortly before the crash. more ›

As always on the weekends, there are DUI checkpoints. Some are announced, some are not. At least one organized by the LAPD tonight will be set up in the Cahuenga Pass tonight from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Cahuenga Boulevard between Lankershim and Broadlawn (map). That's right near a Metro Red Line subway station. "The summer months are a dangerous time of the year and your odds of being involved in an alcohol involved collision can be high," the LAPD cited in a news release. "In 2008 law enforcement statewide reported that 7, 801 people were injured or killed during the three summer months of June, July and August." They say if you see a suspected drunk driver, call 911. more ›

With gusty winds that could reach 70 MPH expected to last into tonight, the I-5's Grapevine section has been reeling from dangerous driving conditions since early this morning. "Shortly after 7:30 a.m., the California Highway Patrol closed the southbound lanes of Interstate 5, and then about 8:15 a.m. shut down the northbound lanes at Vista del Lago," reports LA Now. The CHP has already been called about 20 accidents in the area, and reported conditions on the heavily-traveled section of freeway include ice, hail, snow, and black ice. More on today's windy weather. more ›

Over the past two years, the Automobile Club of Southern California has conducted a handful of studies before and after the texting-while-driving law went into affect, finding that texting dropped 70%, from 1.4% of motorists to 0.5%. But their latest study, conducted over the last month, finds that texting is on the rise again, more than doubling to 1.1%. more ›

The Department of Transportation announced yesterday its intentions to indefinitely expand a temporary January ban prohibiting interstate truck and bus drivers from text messaging behind the wheel. 16% of crash fatalities--that's 5,870 dead--in 2008 were blamed on distracted driving. The same year, 500,000 injuries were blamed on it, too. According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, "20 states [California included!], the District of Columbia and Guam now ban text messaging for all drivers. 15 states, D.C., and Guam have primary enforcement. In the other four, texting bans for all drivers are secondarily enforced." more ›

While there are some clearing conditions now in the skies above Los Angeles, a night and morning of heavy rains has caused serious damage to homes and property as well as created hazardous road conditions all over the area. Road closures include the 2 Freeway which is closes from 2 mi east of the 210 in La Cañada-Flintridge to Islip Saddle (LA Co.); SR 27/Topanga Canyon Blvd closed from SR 1 to Topanga Canyon Road; and the transition road from the SB 110 Freeway to the NB 101 Freeway near downtown LA (due to flooding). Many mountain roads and surface streets are also closed and/or flooded and many accidents have been reported.

To find out current traffic conditions where you are or where you need to be, check one or more of the following frequently-updated websites:
• City of LA Traffic Conditions
• California Dept. of Transportation Roads (Search by Route #)
• California Dept. of Transportation (Updated Hourly)

The city could soon be bringing in more much-needed revenue if they follow through on discussions to expand the current red light camera program, according to the LA Times. Over the next few months LA's motorists could see cameras added to "blocks of eight intersections at a time and eventually doubling the overall reach of the program to 64 intersections." more ›

A slew of new laws are coming into effect in 2010, many of them relating to driving. Yesterday, we explored ones about drunk driving, TVs in vehicles and bicycles without seats. Today, let's take a look at two more: the Move Over law and towing. more ›

As January 1st approaches, a slew of new laws will take effect, but not all: some laws, perhaps some of the most significant, begin July 1st, according to the California Highway Patrol. “The new laws are designed to make our roadways a safe place for motorists,” explained CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow in a statement. more ›