RiversideS13
01-24-2008, 04:25 PM
please read it for your own benefit
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/about/leg/leginfo.htm
In case you haven't seen them, here are the new California vehicle laws
for 2008:
(LOS ANGELES, Dec. 27, 2007) - California will usher in a host of new
laws in 2008 related to traffic safety, driver behavior and vehicle
fuels, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.
Among the laws taking effect on Jan.1 is one that actually was signed
into law in 2006. Senate Bill 1542 provides drivers of cars sold or
leased after Jan. 1 with a convenient and safe system to obtain a
replacement car key if their key is lost, stolen or damaged. The Auto
Club sponsored the legislation to help ensure that motorists can replace
keys quickly through a licensed, bonded, registered locksmith instead of
being forced to wait hours or even days for the manufacturer or a dealer
to make a replacement.
Two other important traffic safety laws will not take effect until July
1. SB 33 prohibits teens from using cell phones or any other "mobile
service device" while driving; and SB 1613 prohibits all other adult
motorists from using a cell phone while driving unless they use a
hands-free speaking and listening system.
Another new law that will take effect July 1 is AB 118, which increases
the "smog abatement fee" for newer vehicles from $12 to $20, and the
vehicle registration fee for all automobiles from $31 to $34. The new
fee will be used to fund research for alternative fuels, alternative
fuel infrastructure projects, and air quality improvement. The Auto Club
opposed the law because the fee increases also will fund a variety of
programs that have nothing to do with automobile use, ownership or
operation.
"The Auto Club considers the goals of the law to be laudable, but we
question whether car owners should be required to pay for projects that
benefit industry and business," said Alice Bisno, the Auto Club's vice
president for public affairs. "We also question whether it's fair for
car owners to have to pay for the cleanup of diesel trucks, farm
equipment, and lawn mowers."
Motorist-related laws taking effect on Jan. 1 include:
* Key Codes. SB 1542 gives motorists a convenient and secure
option for getting replacement keys when theirs have been lost, stolen,
or damaged. Automakers must provide, at any time, the key codes
necessary for a licensed and registered locksmith to make a replacement
key for vehicles sold or leased in California on or after January 1,
2008. Exceptions include automakers that sell fewer than 2,500 vehicles
annually, and manufacturers that make their own keys-i.e. BMW and
Mercedes-Benz- who have until 2013 to comply with the law provided that,
in the interim, they send a replacement key by overnight mail.
* License Plates. Drivers will have a harder time evading "red
light" cameras and similar devices. AB 801 makes it illegal to sell or
use a product that obstructs or impairs the recognition of a license
plate by an electronic device operated by police or toll authority. The
fine for using a product to obscure a license plate is approximately
$146, and the fine for selling such a product is approximately $900.
* School Zones. In an effort to make school zones safer for
children, AB 321 will now allow local jurisdictions to adopt an
ordinance establishing a speed limit of 15 miles per hour in a school
zone. The 15-mph speed limit must be posted and applies up to 500 feet
from the school when children are present or arriving at or leaving the
school, either during school hours or during the noon recess. The 15-mph
limit will also apply when the school grounds are being used by children
and are not separated from the street by a fence, gate, or other
physical barrier. A 25-mph limit will apply at a distance of 500-1,000
feet from the school.
* Street Racing. In a further crackdown on dangerous and illegal
street races, SB 67 reauthorizes a law that lapsed in 2006. It allows
police to impound a vehicle for 30 days when a person is arrested for
street racing, exhibition of speed, or reckless driving. Registered
owners of vehicles impounded under this law can claim their vehicles if
the owners were neither the driver nor passenger at the time of the
violation and were unaware that the vehicle was being used to violate
one of the prohibitions.
* Smoking in Vehicles. SB 7 is intended to prevent children riding
in vehicles from being subjected to the dangers of second-hand smoke.
The law makes it an infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $100, to
smoke a cigarette, a cigar, or a pipe in a vehicle, whether in motion or
not, in which there is a minor. This measure is a "secondary
enforcement" law. A law enforcement officer can only cite a motorist for
a violation of this measure in connection with a stop for a suspected
violation of another driving offense.
* Traffic School. AB 645 prohibits a court from allowing a driver
who commits a two-point violation from attending traffic school.
Two-point violations include drunk driving, hit-and-run, speed contests,
evading an officer, and vehicular manslaughter. In 2004, there were 773
instances in which two-point violators had their driving records
expunged by attending traffic school, allowing them to maintain their
"good driver" insurance discount and elude DMV negligent-driver
oversight.
* Gasoline Dispensing. Concerns about the high cost of gasoline
have prompted scrutiny into whether gasoline loses fuel efficiency when
it is stored, delivered or dispensed at a higher temperature than 60
degrees Fahrenheit. AB 868 requires the state to conduct a study on the
effects of temperature on fuel deliveries and to report the study
findings. Fuel expands when it is delivered, stored, or dispensed at
temperatures higher than the government standard of 60 degrees. This
means that, depending on the temperature, motorists might not get the
amount and quality of fuel they paid for. When the study is complete,
recommendations will be made to address its findings.
Motorist laws that will not take effect until July 1 include:
* Cell Phones and Driving. SB 1613 (adopted in 2006) prohibits the
use of handheld cellular telephones while driving. Starting July 1,
2008, an adult driver may use a cell phone only if it has a hands-free
listening and speaking system. Drivers ticketed for a violation will be
subject to a fine of at least $70 (base fine plus penalties) for a first
offense and at least $175 (base fine plus penalties) for subsequent
offenses. Push-to-talk systems (such as those made by Nextel) are exempt
from the hands-free requirement until July 1, 2011.
* Teen Drivers and Cell Phones. In an effort to improve the safety
of some of the most crash-prone drivers - teenagers - a new law will not
allow minors to phone or text message friends from the road. SB 33
prohibits drivers under age 18 from using any cell phone or other
"mobile-service device" while driving, even if it is equipped with a
hands-free device.
The term "mobile-service device" includes, but isn't limited to, a
broadband personal-communication device, specialized mobile radio
device, handheld device or laptop computer with mobile-data access,
pager, and two-way messaging device. Teen drivers ticketed for a
violation will be subject to a fine of at least $70 (base fine plus
penalties) for a first offense and at least $175 (base fine plus
penalties) for subsequent offenses. Unlike the ban on handheld cell
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/about/leg/leginfo.htm
In case you haven't seen them, here are the new California vehicle laws
for 2008:
(LOS ANGELES, Dec. 27, 2007) - California will usher in a host of new
laws in 2008 related to traffic safety, driver behavior and vehicle
fuels, according to the Automobile Club of Southern California.
Among the laws taking effect on Jan.1 is one that actually was signed
into law in 2006. Senate Bill 1542 provides drivers of cars sold or
leased after Jan. 1 with a convenient and safe system to obtain a
replacement car key if their key is lost, stolen or damaged. The Auto
Club sponsored the legislation to help ensure that motorists can replace
keys quickly through a licensed, bonded, registered locksmith instead of
being forced to wait hours or even days for the manufacturer or a dealer
to make a replacement.
Two other important traffic safety laws will not take effect until July
1. SB 33 prohibits teens from using cell phones or any other "mobile
service device" while driving; and SB 1613 prohibits all other adult
motorists from using a cell phone while driving unless they use a
hands-free speaking and listening system.
Another new law that will take effect July 1 is AB 118, which increases
the "smog abatement fee" for newer vehicles from $12 to $20, and the
vehicle registration fee for all automobiles from $31 to $34. The new
fee will be used to fund research for alternative fuels, alternative
fuel infrastructure projects, and air quality improvement. The Auto Club
opposed the law because the fee increases also will fund a variety of
programs that have nothing to do with automobile use, ownership or
operation.
"The Auto Club considers the goals of the law to be laudable, but we
question whether car owners should be required to pay for projects that
benefit industry and business," said Alice Bisno, the Auto Club's vice
president for public affairs. "We also question whether it's fair for
car owners to have to pay for the cleanup of diesel trucks, farm
equipment, and lawn mowers."
Motorist-related laws taking effect on Jan. 1 include:
* Key Codes. SB 1542 gives motorists a convenient and secure
option for getting replacement keys when theirs have been lost, stolen,
or damaged. Automakers must provide, at any time, the key codes
necessary for a licensed and registered locksmith to make a replacement
key for vehicles sold or leased in California on or after January 1,
2008. Exceptions include automakers that sell fewer than 2,500 vehicles
annually, and manufacturers that make their own keys-i.e. BMW and
Mercedes-Benz- who have until 2013 to comply with the law provided that,
in the interim, they send a replacement key by overnight mail.
* License Plates. Drivers will have a harder time evading "red
light" cameras and similar devices. AB 801 makes it illegal to sell or
use a product that obstructs or impairs the recognition of a license
plate by an electronic device operated by police or toll authority. The
fine for using a product to obscure a license plate is approximately
$146, and the fine for selling such a product is approximately $900.
* School Zones. In an effort to make school zones safer for
children, AB 321 will now allow local jurisdictions to adopt an
ordinance establishing a speed limit of 15 miles per hour in a school
zone. The 15-mph speed limit must be posted and applies up to 500 feet
from the school when children are present or arriving at or leaving the
school, either during school hours or during the noon recess. The 15-mph
limit will also apply when the school grounds are being used by children
and are not separated from the street by a fence, gate, or other
physical barrier. A 25-mph limit will apply at a distance of 500-1,000
feet from the school.
* Street Racing. In a further crackdown on dangerous and illegal
street races, SB 67 reauthorizes a law that lapsed in 2006. It allows
police to impound a vehicle for 30 days when a person is arrested for
street racing, exhibition of speed, or reckless driving. Registered
owners of vehicles impounded under this law can claim their vehicles if
the owners were neither the driver nor passenger at the time of the
violation and were unaware that the vehicle was being used to violate
one of the prohibitions.
* Smoking in Vehicles. SB 7 is intended to prevent children riding
in vehicles from being subjected to the dangers of second-hand smoke.
The law makes it an infraction, punishable by a fine of up to $100, to
smoke a cigarette, a cigar, or a pipe in a vehicle, whether in motion or
not, in which there is a minor. This measure is a "secondary
enforcement" law. A law enforcement officer can only cite a motorist for
a violation of this measure in connection with a stop for a suspected
violation of another driving offense.
* Traffic School. AB 645 prohibits a court from allowing a driver
who commits a two-point violation from attending traffic school.
Two-point violations include drunk driving, hit-and-run, speed contests,
evading an officer, and vehicular manslaughter. In 2004, there were 773
instances in which two-point violators had their driving records
expunged by attending traffic school, allowing them to maintain their
"good driver" insurance discount and elude DMV negligent-driver
oversight.
* Gasoline Dispensing. Concerns about the high cost of gasoline
have prompted scrutiny into whether gasoline loses fuel efficiency when
it is stored, delivered or dispensed at a higher temperature than 60
degrees Fahrenheit. AB 868 requires the state to conduct a study on the
effects of temperature on fuel deliveries and to report the study
findings. Fuel expands when it is delivered, stored, or dispensed at
temperatures higher than the government standard of 60 degrees. This
means that, depending on the temperature, motorists might not get the
amount and quality of fuel they paid for. When the study is complete,
recommendations will be made to address its findings.
Motorist laws that will not take effect until July 1 include:
* Cell Phones and Driving. SB 1613 (adopted in 2006) prohibits the
use of handheld cellular telephones while driving. Starting July 1,
2008, an adult driver may use a cell phone only if it has a hands-free
listening and speaking system. Drivers ticketed for a violation will be
subject to a fine of at least $70 (base fine plus penalties) for a first
offense and at least $175 (base fine plus penalties) for subsequent
offenses. Push-to-talk systems (such as those made by Nextel) are exempt
from the hands-free requirement until July 1, 2011.
* Teen Drivers and Cell Phones. In an effort to improve the safety
of some of the most crash-prone drivers - teenagers - a new law will not
allow minors to phone or text message friends from the road. SB 33
prohibits drivers under age 18 from using any cell phone or other
"mobile-service device" while driving, even if it is equipped with a
hands-free device.
The term "mobile-service device" includes, but isn't limited to, a
broadband personal-communication device, specialized mobile radio
device, handheld device or laptop computer with mobile-data access,
pager, and two-way messaging device. Teen drivers ticketed for a
violation will be subject to a fine of at least $70 (base fine plus
penalties) for a first offense and at least $175 (base fine plus
penalties) for subsequent offenses. Unlike the ban on handheld cell