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WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 8, 2015) – Advanced automotive technologies and safe driving habits can help older motorists remain behind the wheel longer into their lives, according to two new studies by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute. These findings are important because a record 36 million adults ages 65 and older drive in the United States, and this number is expected to increase substantially over the next decade. Recent Foundation research has found that seniors who give up driving are almost two times more likely to experience depression and nearly five times as likely to enter a long-term care facility.

“Permanently giving up the keys can have severe consequences for the health and mental well-being of older adults,” said Peter Kissinger, AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety’s President and CEO. “New technologies and a focus on safe driving can help seniors remain behind the wheel for years to come.”

Car expert Lauren Fix, The Car Coach discusses China, the world's fastest growing car market. Is China's recent rebound a direct effect of a recent tax incentive or does it signal a bigger turn-around? How does the relaxation of the one-child policy affect automotive sales? Learn more about the Chinese automotive market with Lauren Fix.

Nearly One in Three Americans to Take a Holiday Trip This Year

ORLANDO, Fla. (December 15, 2015) – AAA projects the number of year-end holiday travelers will top 100 million for the first time on record. Nearly one in three Americans will take a trip this holiday season, with 100.5 million expected to journey 50 miles or more from home. This represents a 1.4 percent increase over last year and the seventh consecutive year of year-end holiday travel growth. The year-end holiday travel period is defined as Wednesday, December 23, 2015 to Sunday, January 3, 2016.

New AAA survey reveals three out of four American drivers park incorrectly*

ORLANDO, Fla. (December 10, 2015) – This holiday season, as parking lots at shopping malls fill with millions of vehicles, AAA warns drivers to avoid a common parking lot mistake. According to a new survey, more than three quarters (76 percent) of U.S. drivers most frequently park their vehicle by pulling forward into a parking spot, rather than backing in, a riskier practice that driving experts warn leaves pedestrians more vulnerable when a driver later reverses from the spot and into the traffic lane.

Planned high-tech upgrades include a new crash test, new dummies, crash-avoidance ratings

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation today proposed high-tech changes to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s 5-Star Safety Ratings for new vehicles. The planned changes will improve on the well-known safety ratings by adding an additional crash test, using new and more human-like crash test dummies, rating crash-avoidance advanced technologies, and assessing pedestrian protection. These proposed changes will give consumers even better information to help them choose a safe vehicle, and will encourage manufacturers to produce vehicles with better crash protection and new technology innovations that will save lives.

With the holidays right around the corner, now is the time to get the family sleigh ready for travel and gift-delivery duty. By taking care of simple maintenance checks now, you can help ensure stress-free driving all winter long.

Even if you’re meticulous about taking care of your car and diligent about following its recommended service intervals, there are things you’re probably not doing in order to squeeze maximum mileage from each gallon of fuel. Improving your gas mileage by even one or two miles per gallon can save you a significant amount of money over time and eliminate pounds of harmful emissions from being released into the environment. Read on to learn how to improve gas mileage.

Even a tiny dust particle can damage an engine’s delicate internal system. Automobile owners in Arizona face the hazard of driving in dusty areas so it’s crucial to take care of your vehicle’s air filters.

Changing your car’s air filter regularly can have a large impact on your vehicle’s performance and the engine’s longevity.

In the hustle and bustle of the day, it’s sometimes easy to forget to take proper care of your vehicle. It’s easy to overlook simple maintenance items because you can’t see the problem so it’s easy to forget about it until something happens.

Even desert dwellers can run in to roadway trouble driving in mild Arizona valley winter weather. But, a few simple steps of prevention can lead to a long road of safe driving.

Drivers paid the lowest averages for the Christmas holiday since 2009, and pump prices continue to hover around the $2 benchmark. Retail averages have fallen for 45 of the past 52 days, and despite prices moving higher by fractions of a penny on the week, today’s average price of $1.999 is the lowest for this date since the Great Recession. Monthly and yearly discounts persist, and consumers are saving five cents per gallon versus one month ago, and 30 cents per gallon versus this same date last year.

Leading into 2016, the national average is expected to continue to slide because supply should continue to outpace demand. Gas prices typically fall during this time of year as demand for gasoline decreases, and many motorists will remember the fourth quarter of 2014 when pump averages tumbled from $3.33 on October 1 to $2.26 on New Year’s Eve. While seasonal price declines are again reflected across much of the country, prices on the West Coast have moved higher following supply issues in California. Earlier in the year, ExxonMobil’s Torrance, CA refinery unexpectedly went offline, and as a result, prices spiked in the region. Ongoing and unexpected refinery maintenance has kept production from returning to normal levels, and new problems have tightened supply within the region and once again sent prices higher. This regional challenge could keep the national average higher than we would otherwise see, and contribute to volatility to close out the fourth quarter of 2015.