A Smithsonian Best History Book of the Year Winner of the Littleton-Griswold Prize Winner of the Ralph Waldo Emerson Award Winner of the Order of the Coif Award Winner of the Sidney M. Edelstein Prize Winner of the David J. Langum Sr. Prize in American Legal History Winner of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians Book Prize “From traffic stops to parking tickets, Seo traces the history of cars alongside the history of crime and discovers that the two are inextricably linked.” —Smithsonian When Americans think of freedom, they often picture the open road. Yet nowhere are we more likely to encounter the long arm of the law than in our cars. Sarah Seo reveals how the rise of the automobile led us to accept—and expect—pervasive police power, a radical transformation with far-reaching consequences. Before the twentieth century, most Americans rarely came into contact with police officers. But in a society dependent on cars, everyone—law-breaking and law-abiding alike—is subject to discretionary policing. Seo challenges prevailing interpretations of the Warren Court’s due process revolution and argues that the Supreme Court’s efforts to protect Americans did more to accommodate than limit police intervention. Policing the Open Road shows how the new procedures sanctioned discrimination by officers, and ultimately undermined the nation’s commitment to equal protection before the law. “With insights ranging from the joy of the open road to the indignities—and worse—of ‘driving while black,’ Sarah Seo makes the case that the ‘law of the car’ has eroded our rights to privacy and equal justice...Absorbing and so essential.” —Paul Butler, author of Chokehold “A fascinating examination of how the automobile reconfigured American life, not just in terms of suburbanization and infrastructure but with regard to deeply ingrained notions of freedom and personal identity.” —Hua Hsu, New Yorker

Account of how and why cars kill, and why the automobile manufacturers have failed to make cars safe.

The first comprehensive history of auto regulation in the United States. Regulation has shaped the evolution of the automobile from the beginning. In Moving Violations, Lee Vinsel shows that, contrary to popular opinion, these restrictions have not hindered technological change. Rather, by drawing together communities of scientific and technical experts, auto regulations have actually fostered innovation. Vinsel tracks the history of American auto regulation from the era of horseless carriages and the first, faltering efforts to establish speed limits in cities to recent experiments with self-driving cars. He examines how the government has tried to address car-related problems, from accidents to air pollution, and demonstrates that automotive safety, emissions, and fuel economy have all improved massively over time. Touching on fuel economy standards, the rise of traffic laws, the birth of drivers' education classes, and the science of distraction, he also describes how the government's changing activities have reshaped the automobile and its drivers, as well as the country's entire system of roadways and supporting technologies, including traffic lights and gas pumps. Moving Violations examines how policymakers, elected officials, consumer advocates, environmentalists, and other interested parties wrestled to control the negative aspects of American car culture while attempting to preserve what they saw as its positive contributions to society. Written in a clear, approachable, and jargon-free voice, Moving Violations will appeal to makers and analysts of policy, historians of science, technology, business, and the environment, and any readers interested in the history of cars and government.

Automobile Insurance Subrogation: In All 50 States is the most thorough, comprehensive, and ambitious anthology of subrogation-related legal information and insurance resources ever put to paper. It is the last and most anticipated of the subrogation trilogy, and a book which will serve as the “bible” for any insurance company writing personal lines or commercial auto policies. It is destined to become the standard work and reference for attorneys, insurance companies, and subrogation industry professionals. Every year there are more than 7 million auto accidents in the United States with a financial toll of more than $300 billion. Nearly 3 million people are injured and 42,636 people are killed. In the overwhelming majority of these accidents there is at least one party at fault. For virtually every one of these accidents, a policy of automobile insurance provides some sort of claim payments or benefits. In the vast majority of those claims, one or more insurance policies and/or applicable state law grants the insurer a right of subrogation against a negligent third party whose carelessness caused the accident. This book is the bible on subrogating those claims. This book covers the nuts and bolts of auto subrogation in all 50 states, covering every topic imaginable -- including PIP, Med Pay, UM/UIM, property claims, deductible reimbursement, no-fault subrogation and more. It surveys the laws of every state and provides descriptions of every type of auto coverage imaginable, as well as the statutory, case law, and regulatory authority governing every aspect of auto subrogation. If you have subrogation responsibility involving auto claims, you need this book. It universally covers issues which are indelibly interwoven into the business of auto insurance, including a complete treatment of the laws of all 50 states and the District of Columbia relating to: • Basic and Statutory Subrogation Rights • Mandatory vs. Optional Insurance Coverage • No-Fault Laws, PIP, Mini-Torts, and Loss Transfer Laws • Tort Limitations • Medical Payments Coverage and Subrogation • Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage and Subrogation • Collision/Property Subrogation • Release of Tortfeasor by Insured • Accord and Satisfaction: Accepting Partial Payments from Tortfeasor • Made Whole Doctrine • Common Fund Doctrine • Economic Loss Doctrine • Deductible Recovery and Reimbursement • Collateral Source Rule • Contributory Negligence/Comparative Fault • Seat Belt Laws and Defenses • Rental Cars, Loaner Vehicles, and Test Drivers • Bailment/Parking Lot Liability • Negligent Entrustment • Facing Multiple Claims In Excess of Liability Policy Limits • Conflict of Laws/Interstate Subrogation • Recovery of Attorney’s Fees and Costs • Statutes of Limitations It is a complete treatment -- A to Z -- of virtually every issue which the insurance claims or subrogation professional will face in the area of automobile insurance. It is like no legal treatise ever written and promises to be the most used reference in any insurance company.