Driving Laws

Driving is a privilege, protect your privilege and stay informed of all driving regulations

Restrictions

First twelve months: No driving with other teens (under age of 20) and no driving between the hours of 11PM and 5AM, unless accompanied by a licensed driver over 25 years of age.

Note: These restrictions apply as secondary offenses only. The student must be stopped for some other violation (seat belt, failure to stop, limit lines, reckless driving, unsafe vehicle; for those students who think this is unlikely. ..remember, a sticker in the wind shield, a dim tail-light, failure to signal 100 feet in advance, a passenger lacking a seat belt, limit-line violations. . . a police officer will have little difficulty finding a valid reason to pull over a car.)

Exemptions

For transporting immediate family members ONLY if vehicle use is for medical, family, school or employment. (Contact us if you need a permission slip for this; the exemption can not be used for unnecessary excursions.)

Teenage Laws

Cancellation: Parents (or legal guardians) have the right to cancel the license at any time during the provisional license. Yep – any reason. You must be nice to Mom and Dad!

Truancy: Students will receive a fine ($150-500 per offense), administered through the traffic courts, if convicted of truancy and/or loitering (unexcused absences); on third conviction, provisional license is suspended for one year. (One-year delay in obtaining license any time after the 13th birthday).

Destruction of private/public property: Conviction for tagging or destroying any property carries a one-year suspension on any license. (One year delay in obtaining license any time after the 13th birthday).

Driving under the influence of .01% BAC: One year suspension 1/10,000 alcohol / blood = less than one drink of alcohol). This results in a one-year suspension as well as increased insurance premiums. This can be an incredibly small amount of alcohol. We don’t care WHY you drank it – the fact that you did, and then got behind the wheel of a car is all we care about. DON’T!

Driving Laws for All Drivers

School Buses: Motorists on both sides of the street must stop (unless motorist is on the side of median) whenever the red lights of a school bus are flashing, even if the bus driver isn’t escorting children across the street (public or private). Violators can be fined up to $1,000. Drivers who have three convictions in seven years will lose their licenses. We are now putting cameras in school buses! STOP when the lights are flashing, and STAY STOPPED until they stop!

Red Light Violations: Increased the base fine for running a red light to $100-175, bringing the total cost of the violation to $270-381. Subsequent offenses would be subject to the same fine.

Controlled Substances: DMV will suspend or delay the driver’s license of any person for six months upon conviction of any controlled substance offense. Each successive offense is to be followed by an additional six-month suspension.

Recent Laws

Disabled Parking: Authorizes the DMV to conduct an annual random audit of applications submitted and processed by the department to verify the authenticity of the certificates and information. Fines of up to $2500 for each case of forged, counterfeit or falsified disabled person placards.

Road Rage: The court may order the suspension of the driving privilege of any operator of a motor vehicle who commits an assault, commonly referred to as ‘road rage’. The court may, in lieu of or in addition to the suspension, order a person convicted under this section to complete a court-approve danger-management course.

HOV Lanes on San Bernardino Freeway: Increases the minimum occupancy requirement to three persons during commute hours and two persons at all other times.

Blocking a Crosswalk: Provides that no person may stop a vehicle unnecessarily in a manner that causes the vehicle to block a marked or unmarked crosswalk or sidewalk. Imposes a new fine of $100 ($271 fine/penalty) for violating a specified provision that prohibits a driver from overtaking and passing a vehicle that has stopped at a marked or unmarked cross walk to permit a pedestrian to cross the roadway.

Parking Meters: A county sealer shall immediately close an inaccurate meter and notify its owner. Until the meter is either fixed or replaced, a motorist may park there free of charge.

New DUI Penalty: Court may require a person who is convicted of a first DUI offence to install an ignition interlock (a tube connected to the engine, that measures blood alcohol content) device to any vehicle that the person owns or operates. Also requires the device when a person refuses to take the blood/breath test.

Trunking: This law (AB 1850) makes it unlawful for a person to knowingly drive a motor vehicle while another person is riding in the trunk; riding in the trunk is also illegal.The driver receives a fine and one point on his or her driving record; the person riding in the trunk also receives a fine.

Lights ON!: If you are driving with your windshield wipers on due to rain, you must also have your low-beam headlights on. This is our legislature’s attempt at legislating common sense. We really should not have to be told to do this. . .Truly, low beam headlights are ALWAYS appropriate and their consistent use makes you easier to see. (And when you think about it, people often say after a car accident, “I never saw him, I swear, he came out of nowhere! “Put on your lights, and the other guy will see you!

Cell Phones: Drivers under 18 must not use a cell phone while driving. If a driver over 18 must use a cell phone while driving, it cannot be hand-held. The first is a secondary offence, the second is a primary offence. This means that you CAN be pulled over simply because you are holding a cell phone to your ear, no matter what your age.

Plate Shields: Spraying a substance onto your license plate to obscure the identification of your car is illegal. (People do this because they think that the red-light, toll and speed cameras will not be able to identify the car. Sometimes the spray works, sometimes the spray doesn’t work – but it is now illegal.) Glass or plastic in front of a license plate (or placing it behind the windshield) is also illegal.

Do you have any questions? Please feel free to Contact us.