Claim: E-mail lists new California traffic laws taking effect in 2008.
Status: True.
Example: [Collected via e-mail, January 2008]
NEW LAWS FOR 2008 False Registration Consequence: A new law allows peace officers to tow a vehicle that displays false registration, false license plates or fraudulent registration. The old law allowed officers to cite and tow cars with registration that was expired by more than six months. New Smoking Restriction: California drivers will no longer be allowed to smoke in the presence of children under a new state law that took effect Tuesday. Drivers who are stopped for a traffic violation and found to be smoking in a vehicle where anyone under the age of 17 is a passenger will face a $100 fine. No Tricky Devices: Starting Tuesday, it is illegal to use or sell a product that impairs the reading of a license plate by electronic devices, such as red-light cameras and toll booth cameras. The fine for obscuring a plate is $146, and the fine for selling such a product is $900. Slow Down: Drivers should also be prepared to slow down near schools. Street Racing: Under SB 67, police officers can now impound a vehicle for Bikers, Light Up: Bikers riding during darkness must use lights and reflectors while riding on highways, sidewalks or bikeways. Segway Safety: It is also illegal to operate an electric personal assistant mobility device, such as a Segway, at an unsafe speed for conditions, in a reckless manner or a speed that endangers the safety of Hands-Free In July: Later in the year, a state law goes into effect prohibiting drivers from using cell phones and other mobile devices, unless they are equipped with a hands-free speaking and listening system. No Cellular Phones for Under 18: That goes into effect on |
Origins: The year 2007 saw two separate spurts of circulation of an
False Registration Consequence: A new law allows peace officers to tow a
vehicle that displays false registration, false license plates or
fraudulent registration. The old law allowed officers to cite and tow cars
with registration that was expired by more than six months.
Existing California law allowed a peace officer (or a salaried public employee engaged in directing traffic or enforcing parking laws and regulations) to remove or tow any vehicle "found or operated upon a highway, public lands, or an offstreet parking facility with a registration expiration date in excess of
Displaying in, or upon, the vehicle, an altered, forged, counterfeit, or falsified registration card, identification card, temporary receipt, license plate, special plate, registration sticker, or permit.
Displaying in, or upon, the vehicle, a registration card, identification card, temporary receipt, license plate, special plate, registration sticker, or permit that was not issued for that vehicle, or is not otherwise lawfully used on that vehicle under this code.
New Smoking Restriction: California drivers will no longer be allowed to
smoke in the presence of children under a new state law that took effect Tuesday. Drivers who are stopped for a traffic violation and found to be smoking in a vehicle where anyone under the age of 17 is a passenger will face a $100 fine.
Existing California law made it illegal "for a person to smoke a cigarette, cigar, or other tobacco-related product within
No Tricky Devices: Starting Tuesday, it is illegal to use or sell a product that impairs the reading of a license plate by electronic devices, such as red-light cameras and toll booth cameras. The fine for obscuring a plate is $146, and the fine for selling such a product is $900.
Existing California law prohibited "the use of a device that obstructs or impairs the reading or recognition of a license plate by a remote emission sensing device." The passage of
Contrary to what is stated above, the fine established for persons convicted of the sale of license plate-obstructing devices is "$250 per item sold," not $900.
Slow Down: Drivers should also be prepared to slow down near schools. AB 321 now allows local jurisdictions to establish a speed limit of15 mph within500 feet of a school.
This item is a bit complicated, but the gist of it is that existing California law established a
Street Racing: Under SB 67, police officers can now impound a vehicle for 30 days when a person is arrested for street racing, exhibition of speed or reckless driving.
The wording of this item is a bit misleading, as existing California law (as of
Bikers, Light Up: Bikers riding during darkness must use lights and reflectors while riding on highways, sidewalks or bikeways.
Existing California law already specified that the "operation of a bicycle upon a highway, during darkness, requires the use of an illuminated lamp and certain specified reflecting devices." The passage of
Segway Safety: It is also illegal to operate an electric personal assistant mobility device, such as a Segway, at an unsafe speed for conditions, in a reckless manner or a speed that endangers the safety of others.
Existing California law already imposed safety specifications on electric personal assistive mobility devices (EPAMD) and their operation, but those provisions were set to be repealed on
A person shall not operate an EPAMD at a speed that endangers the safety of persons or property. A person shall not operate an EPAMD on a sidewalk, bike path, pathway, trail, bike lane, street, road, or highway with willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property. A person operating an EPAMD on a sidewalk, bike path, pathway, trail, bike lane, street, road, or highway shall yield the right-of-way to all pedestrians on foot, including persons with disabilities using assistive devices and service animals that are close enough to constitute a hazard.
A person shall not operate an EPAMD on a sidewalk, bike path, pathway, trail, bike lane, street, road, or highway at a speed greater than is reasonable and prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, pedestrians, and other conveyance traffic on, and the surface, width, and condition of, the sidewalk, bike path, pathway, trail, bike lane, street, road, or highway.
Hands-Free In July: Later in the year, a state law goes into effect prohibiting drivers from using cell phones and other mobile devices, unless they are equipped with a hands-free speaking and listening system. No Cellular Phones for Under 18: That goes into effect on
July 1. And at the same time, drivers under the age of 18 will not be allowed to use a wireless telephone or other mobile service device, even if it's hands-free, while operating a vehicle.
The passage of SB 1613 in
telephone is designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking operation, and is used in that manner while driving," and it established a "base fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for each subsequent offense." As of that date, the
Last updated: 15 January 2008
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