Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation today announced it is the first automobile insurer in Massachusetts to reward its new and renewing policyholders with lower rates for "going green," by driving less. Committed to reducing emissions and helping customers find new ways to save on their insurance policies, Plymouth Rock will lower rates for customers who drive fewer miles than the average customers in their geographic area.

Problems like the price of gas and carbon footprints paled when the water pump on my 17-year-old -- and 45,000-mile-young -- work truck conked out.My sharp, shade-tree-mechanic's ear had picked up on that telltale sound resembling a bowling ball in a washing machine, so I pulled over. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere (a Wal-Mart parking lot in a rural county) on my way to a distant stone yard. As there was no amount of bubble gum and baling wire to secure the pump and get me home, it was a good day gone real bad.

That moment before impact -- the split second when Mary Wybrow lost control -- remains vivid in her memory, even two years later.

That's the goal of new regulations proposed by State Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner.

Connecticut regulators say complaints they've received signal an increase in the sale of fake auto insurance cards, and they're warning consumers not to break the law by using them.Drivers who buy legitimate policies receive cards showing they're insured, and they're required by Connecticut law to present a card when registering a car and to keep one in their car at all times. Auto insurance is mandatory.

It seems like an easy solution: Americans are looking for more fuel-efficient vehicles, so Ford Motor Co. is bringing over some of the gas-sipping cars it's been selling to Europeans for years.

The California Department of Insurance wants Golden State drivers to drive less, save money and save the planet, all at the same time. Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said Wednesday he's planning to make a new green automobile insurance option, known as "pay-as-you-go," available to California drivers as early as the fall of next year by proposing new regulations that will make the new option feasible.