New California Traffic Laws Address When Police Can Tow Your Vehicle, Impound Your License and More
Last month we discussed the passage of Assembly Bill 256 (AB 256) and how under this new law police can no longer initiate a traffic stop based solely on expired tags that are fewer than two months out of date (New California Law Puts the Brakes on Traffic Stops for Expired Tags, posted 7/24/24). The idea behind the law is to reduce unnecessary stops which are often used as fishing expeditions and raise the risk for escalations, confrontations, and potential civil rights violations, including excessive force.
AB 256 wasn’t the only law passed by the legislature this session that stands up for the rights of motorists. Below we look at a few more new laws you might not know about but will be glad you did. If you have been harassed or had your rights violated based on your status as a motorcyclist in the Bay Area, contact William E. Weiss, Attorney at Law, to visit with an experienced and dedicated San Francisco motorcycle rider civil rights lawyer.
Verifying a Vehicle’s Registration Before Towing It Away
Existing law authorizes a police officer or parking enforcement worker to remove a vehicle if it is left parked on the roadway for 72 or more consecutive hours in violation of a local ordinance authorizing removal. Law enforcement can also order a tow for any vehicle they find on a public road or off-street parking facility with a registration that is more than six months out of date.
AB 925, approved by the Governor in July 2023, requires the officer to first verify that no current registration exists before removing a vehicle. The officer is required to access DMV records and verifying the registration is lapsed before calling for a tow. If the vehicle has a current registration on file with the DMV, or if the officer doesn’t have immediate access to DMV records, the vehicle cannot be removed.
No Driver’s License Impounds for Failure to Pay Fines
Under current California law, it is a misdemeanor offense to willfully violate a promise to appear in court. As a penalty for this violation, the court clerk can accept a forfeiture of at least ten percent of the amount put up as bail for each infraction. If a person fails to pay their bail in installments pursuant to an agreement with the court, the court can impound the person’s driver’s license and order the person not to drive for as long as 30 days. The court can soften such an order somewhat by ordering the person to limit their driving to and from work only.
AB 1125, signed by Governor Newsom last October, takes away the ability of the court to impound someone’s driver’s license or limit their driving because they failed to pay their bill in installments. This bill is part of an overall effort by the California legislature to remove most driver’s license suspensions from the law that have no relation to dangerous driving behavior, such as drinking and driving or reckless driving.
Legislators realize that impounding a person’s driver’s license increases the risk they will be picked up for driving with a suspended license and subject to a misdemeanor offense that could cause their vehicle to be impounded for 30 days or even put them in jail. People need to get to work to survive, and suspending their license for various reasons puts them at risk of further criminal liability or committing offenses like hit and run if they get into a crash while their license is suspended. So far, the legislature has eliminated license suspensions for offenses such as failure to pay traffic fines, failure to appear in court, soliciting a prostitute, and more. AB 1125 is one more step in that direction.
Failure to Attend Traffic School
Attending traffic violator school is often an excellent outcome for someone facing a costly traffic violation. By completing traffic school, the motorist can keep their conviction confidential and avoid having points assessed against their driver’s license, which can lead to a license suspension and hefty insurance rate hikes if too many points get racked up. However, a person ordered to traffic school can be charged and punished with a misdemeanor for a “willful” failure to attend traffic school as required. That conviction could subject the offender to up to six months in county jail, up to $1,000 in fines, or both.
AB 466 ends that. Now, the failure to attend traffic school is no longer a misdemeanor offense and is not punishable in any way as a new offense. However, the underlying traffic violation conviction will no longer be confidential, and the person will have points assessed against their license for the initial violation, so this law is something of a mixed bag for motorists. If you are ordered to traffic school, make sure you go, and if you miss it, make sure you have a good excuse and that your failure isn’t willful.
Contact Attorney William E. Weiss for Help With Motorcycle Rider First Amendment and Civil Rights Violations and Motorcycle Accidents in San Francisco
These laws and others recognize the commitment of many in the legislature to take a common-sense approach toward dealing with traffic matters that don’t unduly burden drivers as they go about their daily business. Unfortunately, some members of law enforcement continue to view traffic enforcement laws as the perfect pretext to stop motorists, especially motorcyclists wearing colors, and harass them or use the stop as the basis for an arrest.
If you have had your rights as a motorcyclist violated in the San Francisco Bay Area, or if you have been injured in a motorcycle accident, I want to hear from you. Call Wiliam E. Weiss, Attorney at Law, at 415-362-6765 for a free consultation to talk about what happened and find out how I can help. You can also reach me directly on my cell phone at 415-235-7060 or email me at william.weiss@gmail.com.
