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Photo by Senor Codo via Flickr
This week the DMV released a reminder list of the new laws taking effect January 1, 2009. It was a busy year, according to the DMV website. 772 bills were signed into law, including over 80 changes to the vehicle code.
The change that will probably affect the most people is an attempt to stop all of the busy little fingers on the road.
Text Messaging (SB 28/Simitian) This new law makes it an infraction to write, send, or read text-based communication on an electronic wireless communication device, such as a cell phone, while driving...Violating this law is punishable by a base fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for each subsequent offense. With the addition of penalty assessments, fines can be more than triple the base fine amount.
Other new laws are intended to improve air quality by limiting temporary operating operating permits for drivers who have not gotten smog checks and imposing an air-quality fee on some counties (not LA). It will also be illegal to falsify a Clean Air Sticker (which lets you drive in the HOV lane). Speaking of the HOV lane, trippy enclosed 3-wheel vehicles will be allowed to drive in it starting in January.
Impounding is popular this year. Law enforcement will have the authority to impound a person's vehicle and suspend their license for one year if they are caught driving with a "blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.01 percent or greater while on court-ordered post-DUI probation." No second chances. Law enforcement will also be able to impound cars being sold by unlicensed dealers. So close up that illegal used car lot in the backyard, people.
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Nooooooo.. I didnt realize 'read' texts is going to be illegal. That means no more reading emails every time i hear a 'bing'..
blah! This sucks....
However - continue freely texting, browsing, chatting and emailing while on the Red, Gold, Green, and Blue lines...No additional equipment required.
Maybe one day on the Red and Purple lines?
Uh...if you're driving. The last thing any driver like myself needs if your eyes off the road.
Take it as a sign to finally put down the device and concentrate on driving.
Texting while driving is more dangerous than talking but how are they ever going to enforce this? If someone is looking down they are texting? You can just say you are dialing a number.
They shouldn't be dialing a number either. Get all the techno whiz bang crap out of the drivers seat and wait. Or get on the bus or train, you can't have it both ways. One study found people who text to perform worse then someone intoxicated.
And what is with the $20 fine, come on parking tickets are more then double that, and a parked car isn't going to accidentally smash into someone. I was given a ticket for being too far to the left on my bicycle (which I fought and won because I was clearly making a left turn and signaled first, which is legal), and that was $160 fine.
Idiotic. As #4 said, it's unenforceable. Basically we're giving cops free reign to pull people over because they "thought you were texting." This is just another arbitrary bullshit law. All I have to say when I'm pulled over is that I was using something more distracting but totally legal, like google maps, right?
Well, eating and reading a newspaper are technically still legal...
You can be cited for negligent driving if you cause and accident, correct? So how about you just get an extra fine if you're doing something dumb (like texting, eating, slapping your kids around) while driving and you hit something? Oh, because then the state wouldn't make as much money.
Common sense and common courtesy while driving please!!! If everyone did that a lot of the problems mentioned here wouldn't be an issue, cause courteous drivers wouldn't do them.
What if you're just changing the song on your ipod?
*iphone
I agree wholeheartedly with Johnny: "Common sense and common courtesy while driving please!!!"
Come on Los Angeles: most of you suck hairy balls when it comes to driving. I'm sorry, but you do.
You're inefficient, unattentive, and inconsiderate.
You can't merge for fuck.
You never use your turn signals.
You weave in and out of lanes, wasting gas and pissing people off.
You pay no attention to the flow of traffic.
I drive CIRCLES around everybody in this town. I get to places on time and never get into fender-benders. Why? I PAY ATTENTION, stay in the most efficient lane, and clearly signal when I'm going to do something like turn left. (I KNOW CRAZY, RIGHT????)
So, sorry L.A., PUT THE FUCKING PHONE DOWN. (Or the fucking sandwich, or newspaper, or whatever. They're all distractions. They all reduce your ability to make good decisions behind the wheel. Don't be an asshole. Period.)
If you need to text or make a call, pull over. Otherwise, it can wait. You know, like you used to do ten years ago before everybody had cell phones.
UGHHHHHHH I will beat you all.
The no texting while driving thing absolutely makes sense. I think it is more dangerous than talking on the phone.
That being said, I was hoping to see a law that made it illegal for motorcycles to ride between lanes of traffic. I have almost had my arm taken off a couple of times. The other day on the freeway one guy whizzed by so close that he missed my side mirror by literally a hair. About a mile up the freeway I saw a that same motorcycle rider pulled over on the side of the freeway exchanging information with a guy whose side mirror was broken and dangling off the side of his car.
I also worry that when making a lane change in slow moving freeway traffic that I may inadvertently cut one off that is whizzing up quickly between lanes behind me. Sometimes they seem to come out of nowhere. I've seen more than a few close calls in that scenario as well.