New Year, New Laws: Auto Club Details Changes for Drivers.LOS ANGELES Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. -- New penalties for drunk drivers, street racers, and "pocket bike" riders - along with improvements to California's teen driving requirements - are among the laws taking effect as of Sunday, Jan. 1, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the Automobile Club of Southern California The Automobile Club of Southern California was founded December 13, 1900 in Los Angeles as one of the nation's first motor clubs dedicated to improving roads, proposing traffic laws and improvement of overall driving conditions. . "Many of these laws are designed to improve safety for motorists by increasing penalties for unsafe driving behavior," said Alice Bisno, the Auto Club's vice president for legislative affairs. New laws New Laws: see Las Casas, Bartolomé de. affecting motorists that go into effect Jan. 1 include: Street Racing AB 1325 establishes a jail term of 30 days to six months for persons found guilty of engaging in motor-vehicle speed contests if the driver causes bodily injury to someone other than himself or herself. Drunk Driving Penalties SB 597 extends from seven years to 10 years the time period an individual is ineligible for a good-driver discount following a conviction for drunk driving. This change is consistent with the change made in 2005 by SB 1694, which required all DUI convictions to remain on a violator's record for 10 years instead of seven. Two other new laws improve law enforcement's ability to impound impound v. 1) to collect funds, in addition to installment payments, from a person who owes a debt secured by property, and place them in a special account to pay property taxes and insurance when due. drunk drivers' vehicles. SB 207 authorizes an officer to impound the vehicle of a person with a prior DUI conviction arrested for a suspected DUI if the person has a blood alcohol level of at least 0.10 percent or if the person refuses a chemical test. AB 979 authorizes an officer to impound the vehicle of a motorist violating a requirement to drive only a vehicle equipped with a functioning, certified ignition interlock device A breath alcohol ignition interlock device (BIID or IID) is a mechanism similar to a breathalyzer which is installed in a vehicle's dashboard. Before the vehicle can be started, the driver must breathe into the device. . Pocket Bikes AB 1051 provides a definition of a pocket bike and requires the manufacturer to let prospective buyers know, in writing, where one may not be operated. Pocket bikes, which are miniature motorcycles, are illegal to ride on public streets. Additionally, the new law specifies that pocket bikes seized by law enforcement will be held for a minimum of 48 hours and will be released only after appropriate fees have been paid. Car Insurance SB 20 extends the state's low-cost automobile insurance program for qualified drivers to the year 2011 and adds six more counties where it will be available. Previously, low-cost auto insurance was available only in Los Angeles and San Francisco San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden counties; now, it can also be obtained in Alameda, Fresno, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino San Bernardino, city, United States San Bernardino (săn bûr'nədē`nō), city (1990 pop. 164,164), seat of San Bernardino co., S Calif., at the foot of the San Bernardino Mts.; inc. 1854. , and San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. counties. The law also gives the insurance commissioner the discretion to add more counties in the future. Graduated Driver Licensing Graduated driver licensing systems are designed to provide new drivers of motor vehicles with driving experience and skills gradually over time in low-risk environments. There are typically three steps or stages through which new drivers pass. Law Strengthened AB 1474 strengthens the existing teen licensing law by requiring teen motorists to have their license for one year before being allowed to drive between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., or before being allowed to transport young passengers without an adult in the car. Even teens who have gotten their licenses before Jan. 1 will have to follow the new law if their licenses are less than one year old. Under the previous teen driving law, motorists under age 18 were prohibited from driving between midnight and 5 a.m. for one year after being licensed, and could not transport young passengers without an adult in the car for the first six months after obtaining a license. In 1997, the Auto Club sponsored California's graduated driver licensing law. Its purpose was to reduce the number of teen deaths and injuries in car crashes, and it worked: In the two years following the law's implementation, at-fault crashes involving 16-year-old drivers dropped 24 percent, and the number of teen-passenger deaths and injuries from crashes involving 16-year-old drivers declined 40 percent. Still, nearly 40,000 teen drivers and passengers in California died or were injured in car crashes in 2004, and car crashes remain the leading cause of death in the state for teens ages 15-20. The Automobile Club of Southern California, the largest affiliate of the AAA AAA: see American Automobile Association. (Triple A) A common single-cell battery used in a myriad of electronic devices of all variety. Like its double A (AA) cousin, it provides 1.5 volts of DC power. When used in series, the voltage is multiplied. , has been serving members since 1900. Today, the Auto Club's members benefit by roadside assistance, insurance products and services, travel agency, financial products, automotive pricing and buying programs, automotive testing and analysis, trip planning services and highway and transportation safety programs. Information about these products and services is available on the Auto Club's Web site at www.aaa.com. |
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