By Bill Corliss

Each month I teach a traffic ticket class at College of Sequoias and students are frequently surprised by laws I present in the class — laws they didn’t know existed. Many drivers in the class have been cited for violating new laws. This is a costly and time-consuming method of learning! Each January 1, the local newspapers run articles reviewing new legislation and usually include a list of laws pertaining to driving, but this list is only partial, and people who skip that article or do not read the paper that day miss it.

The best resource for new driving laws is the California Driver Handbook. Annually the DMV Handbook reaches drivers in February. Since the 2008 issue, all new driving regulations have been located on the first page after the table of contents. The DMV Handbook is also online at dmv.ca.gov.

Not all new legislation affects every driver, but much of it does. For example, minors’ law does not change laws for drivers over 18 and some laws focus on commercial driving rather than drivers with a Class C license for cars. Hopefully a review of changes since 2007 will not surprise you, but it might!

2008 NEW LAWS

Mobile Phone Use

Drivers who are 18 and older are required to use a hands-free device while driving and using their mobile phones.

Drivers under 18 are not permitted to use mobile phones or other wireless devices while driving.

Smoking

Smoking in a vehicle where a minor is present is an infraction.

Slow for the Cone Zone

Drivers are required to move over and slow down when approaching a roadside emergency along a state highway or freeway. The law is designed to reduce the deaths of police officers, tow truck drivers, paramedics and other emergency personnel who are aiding stranded or injured motorists. (A safe lane change or a reduction to a prudent speed is required if an emergency yellow or red light is flashing.)

Use of Windshield Wipers

You must turn on your headlights in inclement weather or low visibility (1,000 feet or less) that requires the use of windshield wipers.

Child Safety

You cannot leave a child aged 6 or younger unattended in a motor vehicle when the child’s safety is at risk. (Example: In a car on a hot day or with the engine is running, or if the keys are in the ignition.)

Evading a Peace Officer

You cannot deliberately run away or attempt to evade a peace officer performing his/her duties (police pursuit). The punishment is up to one year in county jail. If a serious bodily injury occurs during a police pursuit, the punishment is seven years in state prison. If a person is killed during a police pursuit, the punishment is ten years in state prison.

NEW 2009 LAWS

No-Texting

Drivers may not use a wireless communications device to write, send or read text-based communications while driving a motor vehicle.

Administrative Per Se (APS) Zero Tolerance

It is unlawful for a person who is on probation for a DUI offense to operate a motor vehicle at any time with a blood alcohol level (BAC) of 0.01 or greater. Violations of the law will result in a one-year suspension of the driving privilege. Refusal of or failure to complete an alcohol screening (PAS) or chemical test will result in a two-year revocation of the privilege. If you have two or more prior DUI convictions within the past ten years, refusing a PAS or chemical test will result in a three-year revocation of the driving privilege. Violators are not eligible for a restricted license for any of the above violations.

Effective July 2009

If you have a prior DUI conviction and are convicted of driving with a suspended driver license, you will be required to install an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) on your vehicle for up to three years, depending on your driving record.

NEW 2010 LAWS

Driving Under the Influence (DUI) Pilot Program

A DUI pilot program will be implemented that requires a first time or multiple DUI offender to install an IID in certain areas. Tulare County is one of five counties in the state in the pilot program.

New Information

Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEV) and Low-Speed Vehicles (LSV) have become fixtures on our roadways and part of the California driving culture. There’s a NEV and LSV section on page 59 of this Handbook with more information on these new passenger vehicles.

NEW 2011 LAWS

Motorcycle Law

People under the age of 21 must complete a fifteen-hour CHP motorcyclist training course prior to obtaining an instruction permit to operate a two-wheel motorcycle. The rider is required to have the permit six months before applying for a license.

Traffic Violator School Program

Court-approved programs of traffic safety instruction are eliminated and the Department of Motor Vehicles exclusively oversees the traffic violator school (TVS) industry, including classroom and home-study formats. The current dismissal of a traffic violation for a driver who attends TVS is changed to a traffic violator school conviction that will be held confidential (masked) only if there is no other TVS conviction reported within the preceding eighteen months.

California Teen Alcohol Safety Act

This law adds a “social host” liability on adults who knowingly provide alcohol to minors who are subsequently injured or killed as a result.

Many new laws or adjustments to current law appear each year. When a driver gets a ticket the process is currently changing. To learn about the changes visit the DMV website www.dmv.ca.gov. For complete information on chaptered bills, enacted in 2010, refer to the Legislative Counsel website at www.LegInfo.ca.gov.

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