California commercial drivers can now take traffic schoolBeginning January 2013, California commercial drivers can now take traffic school. Beginning January 2013, California commercial drivers can now take traffic school. Prior to 2013, drivers who possessed commercial licenses were not able to take traffic school for traffic violations while off-duty. This means that even when they were driving their personal vehicles, if they received a ticket, they were not allowed to attend traffic school. For commercial drivers, this means that they could lose their job. The new law does not mask the conviction from view on their driving record, but it keeps a point off of their record. The previous law prohibited drivers with a class A, class B, or commercial class C driver’s license from attending a Traffic Violator School program for the purposes of dismissing and suppressing traffic violation from a driving record. This prohibition applies to any violations issued on September 20, 2005, or later and committed with any class of motor vehicle. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST AB 1888, Gatto. Vehicles: commercial driver’s licenses: traffic violator school. Existing law provides for the licensing and administration by the Department of Motor Vehicles of traffic violator schools, operators, and instructors. Existing law authorizes the court, after a deposit of bail and bail forfeiture, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a conviction, to order a continuance of the proceeding against a person who receives a notice to appear in court for a violation of a statute relating to the safe operation of a vehicle, in consideration for completion of a program at a licensed school for traffic violators. The court is authorized to order that the conviction be held confidential, unless the person holds a commercial driver’s license or the violation occurred in a commercial vehicle. The court is prohibited from ordering or permitting a person who holds a class A, class B, or commercial class C driver’s license to complete a licensed traffic violator school. Existing law requires that no violation point count be assessed if the record of conviction is confidential. The driving privilege of a person whose driving record shows 6 or more points within specified timeframes is subject to suspension or revocation. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime. This bill would allow the court, after a deposit of the specified fee or bail, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a conviction, to order or permit a person who holds a class A license, class B license, or commercial class C driver’s license to attend a traffic violator school for a traffic offense while operating a vehicle requiring only a class C or class M license. The bill would specify that the record of conviction in any 18-month period would not be confidential, would require that the record of conviction be disclosed to insurers for insurance underwriting and rating purposes, and would not count as a violation point for determining whether a driver is presumed to be a negligent operator, unless a specified condition applies to the offense. New laws as chaptered: SECTION 1. Section 1808.10 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read: 1808.10. The record of the department relating to the first proceeding and conviction for a driver licensed with a class A license, class B license, or commercial class C driver’s license in any 18-month period who is allowed, for a traffic offense while operating a vehicle requiring only a class C or a class M license, to complete a course of instruction at a traffic violator school, is not confidential and shall be disclosed for purposes of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations and to insurers by the department for insurance underwriting and rating purposes. SEC. 2. Section 42005 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read: 42005. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, after a deposit of the fee under Section 42007 or bail, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a conviction, a court may order or permit a person who holds a noncommercial class C, class M1, or class M2 driver’s license who pleads guilty or who pleads no contest or who is convicted of a traffic offense to attend a traffic violator school licensed pursuant to Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 11200) of Division 5. (b) To the extent the court is in conformance with Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and except as otherwise provided in this section, the court may, after deposit of the fee under Section 42007 or bail, order or permit a person who holds a class A, class B, or commercial class C driver’s license, who pleads guilty or no contest or is convicted of a traffic offense, to complete a course of instruction at a licensed traffic violator school if the person was operating a vehicle requiring only a class C license, or a class M license. The court may not order that the record of conviction be kept confidential. However, the conviction shall not be added to a violation point count for purposes of determining whether a driver is presumed to be a negligent operator under Section 12810.5. (c) The court shall not order that a conviction of an offense be kept confidential according to Section 1808.7, order or permit avoidance of consideration of violation point counts under subdivision (b), or permit a person, regardless of the driver’s license class, to complete a program at a licensed traffic violator school in lieu of adjudicating an offense if any of the following applies to the offense: (1) It occurred in a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 15210. (2) Is a violation of Section 20001, 20002, 23103, 23104, 23105, 23140, 23152, or 23153, or of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5. (3) It is a violation described in subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 12810. (d) A person ordered to attend a traffic violator school pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) may choose the traffic violator school the person will attend. The court shall provide to each person subject to that order or referral the department’s current list of licensed traffic violator schools. (e) A person who willfully fails to comply with a court order to attend traffic violator school is guilty of a misdemeanor.

California commercial drivers can now take traffic school

Beginning January 2013, California commercial drivers can now take traffic school.

Beginning January 2013, California commercial drivers can now take traffic school. Prior to 2013, drivers who possessed commercial licenses were not able to take traffic school for traffic violations while off-duty. This means that even when they were driving their personal vehicles, if they received a ticket, they were not allowed to attend traffic school. For commercial drivers, this means that they could lose their job. The new law does not mask the conviction from view on their driving record, but it keeps a point off of their record.

The previous law prohibited drivers with a class A, class B, or commercial class C driver’s license from attending a Traffic Violator School program for the purposes of dismissing and suppressing traffic violation from a driving record. This prohibition applies to any violations issued on September 20, 2005, or later and committed with any class of motor vehicle.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1888, Gatto. Vehicles: commercial driver’s licenses: traffic violator school.

Existing law provides for the licensing and administration by the Department of Motor Vehicles of traffic violator schools, operators, and instructors. Existing law authorizes the court, after a deposit of bail and bail forfeiture, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a conviction, to order a continuance of the proceeding against a person who receives a notice to appear in court for a violation of a statute relating to the safe operation of a vehicle, in consideration for completion of a program at a licensed school for traffic violators. The court is authorized to order that the conviction be held confidential, unless the person holds a commercial driver’s license or the violation occurred in a commercial vehicle. The court is prohibited from ordering or permitting a person who holds a class A, class B, or commercial class C driver’s license to complete a licensed traffic violator school. Existing law requires that no violation point count be assessed if the record of conviction is confidential. The driving privilege of a person whose driving record shows 6 or more points within specified timeframes is subject to suspension or revocation. A violation of the Vehicle Code is a crime.

This bill would allow the court, after a deposit of the specified fee or bail, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a conviction, to order or permit a person who holds a class A license, class B license, or commercial class C driver’s license to attend a traffic violator school for a traffic offense while operating a vehicle requiring only a class C or class M license. The bill would specify that the record of conviction in any 18-month period would not be confidential, would require that the record of conviction be disclosed to insurers for insurance underwriting and rating purposes, and would not count as a violation point for determining whether a driver is presumed to be a negligent operator, unless a specified condition applies to the offense.

New laws as chaptered:

SECTION 1. Section 1808.10 is added to the Vehicle Code, to read:

1808.10. The record of the department relating to the first proceeding and conviction for a driver licensed with a class A license, class B license, or commercial class C driver’s license in any 18-month period who is allowed, for a traffic offense while operating a vehicle requiring only a class C or a class M license, to complete a course of instruction at a traffic violator school, is not confidential and shall be disclosed for purposes of Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations and to insurers by the department for insurance underwriting and rating purposes.

SEC. 2. Section 42005 of the Vehicle Code is amended to read:

42005. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, after a deposit of the fee under Section 42007 or bail, a plea of guilty or no contest, or a conviction, a court may order or permit a person who holds a noncommercial class C, class M1, or class M2 driver’s license who pleads guilty or who pleads no contest or who is convicted of a traffic offense to attend a traffic violator school licensed pursuant to Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 11200) of Division 5.

(b) To the extent the court is in conformance with Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and except as otherwise provided in this section, the court may, after deposit of the fee under Section 42007 or bail, order or permit a person who holds a class A, class B, or commercial class C driver’s license, who pleads guilty or no contest or is convicted of a traffic offense, to complete a course of instruction at a licensed traffic violator school if the person was operating a vehicle requiring only a class C license, or a class M license. The court may not order that the record of conviction be kept confidential. However, the conviction shall not be added to a violation point count for purposes of determining whether a driver is presumed to be a negligent operator under Section 12810.5.

(c) The court shall not order that a conviction of an offense be kept confidential according to Section 1808.7, order or permit avoidance of consideration of violation point counts under subdivision (b), or permit a person, regardless of the driver’s license class, to complete a program at a licensed traffic violator school in lieu of adjudicating an offense if any of the following applies to the offense:

(1) It occurred in a commercial motor vehicle, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 15210.

(2) Is a violation of Section 20001, 20002, 23103, 23104, 23105, 23140, 23152, or 23153, or of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5.

(3) It is a violation described in subdivision (d) or (e) of Section 12810.

(d) A person ordered to attend a traffic violator school pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) may choose the traffic violator school the person will attend. The court shall provide to each person subject to that order or referral the department’s current list of licensed traffic violator schools.

(e) A person who willfully fails to comply with a court order to attend traffic violator school is guilty of a misdemeanor.

New California law allows you to show proof of auto insurance coverage on your smartphone!

There is a new law in California, beginning on January 1, 2013, which allows you to show your proof of auto insurance coverage on your smartphone.

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed into law Assembly Bill 1708, which makes California the seventh state in the country that allows drivers to show proof of auto insurance coverage via their smartphone or other mobile electronic device. Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, and Minnesota also have similar laws.

Drivers can still opt to hand over a piece of paper from their glove box instead, the Association of California Insurance Companies said in a news release.

The new law applies to motorists and insurers. Insurance companies can decide whether to provide insurance identification cards to customers electronically or in a paper copy.

How many times have you been pulled over, or come up to a DUI check point, and asked to provide proof of auto insurance? Then, after digging through your glove box, you finally find it and it's expired! This has happened to me many times and recently I have used the smartphone application from my auto insurance carrier to serve as proof. Now it's finally a law and you can legally use your smartphone as your proof of auto insurance. This law makes perfect sense in today's age of smartphones and other mobile electronic devices.

"Electronic proof of coverage is the wave of the future," said Alex Hageli of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. "Several insurers already offer apps or will email copies of policies to consumers."

Some of the insurance companies that currently provide Android based apps that show your auto insurance policy are: AAA, Allstate Insurance Company, Esurance, Farmers Insurance Group, GEICO Insurance, Liberty Mutual Insurance Company, MetLife Inc, Nationwide Insurance, Progressive Insurance, Shelter Mutual Insurance Company, The General Insurance, and USAA.