new fines in CA starting in july!

[tupacboy]

I don't know if these are verified, but I got this in a email...

Starting July 1st, make sure you're hands free on the cell while driving.
**************************************************************************************************** *****************
1. Carpool lane - 1st time $1068.50 starting 7/1/07 (The $271 posted
on the highway is old). Don't do it again because 2nd time is going to be
double. 3rd time triple, and 4th time license suspended.

2. Incorrect lane change - $380. Don't cross the lane on solid lines or intersections.

3. Block intersection - $485

4. Driving on the shoulder - $450

5. Cell phone use in the construction zone. - Double fine as of 07/01/07.
Cell phone use must be "hands free" while driving.

6. Passengers over 18 not in their seatbelts - both passengers and drivers get tickets .

7. Speeders can only drive 3 miles above the limit.

8. DUI = JAIL (Stays on your driving record for 10 years!)

9. As of 07/01/07 cell phone use must be "hands free" while driving.
Ticket is $285. They will be looking for this like crazy - easy money for police department.

10. Cigarettes out the window = $300

[clutchy]

peachy... welcome to the police state.

[Thesifer]

I believe the Cell Phone law was changed to 7/01/08 But I'm not sure, I'll have to look it up. That was coming from a CHP Officer.

Also "Cigarettes out the window" should = more like $4000 if they were smart. Too bad they aren't.


Edit: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign a bill today that bans handheld cell phone use while driving. California will be the fourth state to put such a ban in place. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have similar bills. Californians have a while to adjust to the new law, though; it won’t go into effect until July 1, 2008. The law will allow for cell phone use with hands-free devices such as Bluetooth headsets. Fines for breaking the new law will be $20 for the first offense and $50 every time after, but none of the tickets will impact the driver’s insurance. Many cars sold today feature their own built-in hands-free devices, and we’d expect that by July 2008 many more vehicles will come with the technology standard.

So with all the inaccuracies with just that one Law (Date, Fine, etc) I would say most of those others are a bit off as well.

Edit again: Upon further research, the entire Email is a hoax. They took parts of truths, and extended them for their own amusement.

[bachviet]

It's a hoax but the cell-phone ban while driving is real and the effective date is July 01, 2008.

[Sirrich3]

not too sure about the 3 miles over the speed limit...

[Thesifer]

not too sure about the 3 miles over the speed limit...

It's always been that cops can pull people over for 1 over if they want, they just usually don't. I've actually heard a motorcycle cop say he only pulled people over for doing 85 and up when he was working Radar. But it's all preference.

[CornMonkey]

Yes, someone told me that the CA cellphone law would take effect this year...so I told all my friends to buy handsfree/bluetooth sets. Then I found out it's not until 2008. Now all my friends hate me.

[renovation]

you know it all starts off in the police state of California and moves east . so im betting in about 1 year. 29 states east of California . will have the same rules and fines apply on there law books !

[Napoleon54]

I don't know if these are verified, but I got this in a email...

Starting July 1st, make sure you're hands free on the cell while driving.
**************************************************************************************************** *****************
1. Carpool lane - 1st time $1068.50 starting 7/1/07 (The $271 posted
on the highway is old). Don't do it again because 2nd time is going to be
double. 3rd time triple, and 4th time license suspended.

2. Incorrect lane change - $380. Don't cross the lane on solid lines or intersections.

3. Block intersection - $485

4. Driving on the shoulder - $450

5. Cell phone use in the construction zone. - Double fine as of 07/01/07.
Cell phone use must be "hands free" while driving.

6. Passengers over 18 not in their seatbelts - both passengers and drivers get tickets .

7. Speeders can only drive 3 miles above the limit.

8. DUI = JAIL (Stays on your driving record for 10 years!)

9. As of 07/01/07 cell phone use must be "hands free" while driving.
Ticket is $285. They will be looking for this like crazy - easy money for police department.

10. Cigarettes out the window = $300

Debunked.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/traffic/california.asp

you know it all starts off in the police state of California and moves east . so im betting in about 1 year. 29 states east of California . will have the same rules and fines apply on there law books !

NY will head West and meet them half way.

[Thesifer]

you know it all starts off in the police state of California and moves east . so im betting in about 1 year. 29 states east of California . will have the same rules and fines apply on there law books !

Except minus a Cell phone ban, they aren't doing anything more then normal.

And that's not even til 2008 when most new cars will have the speakers Standard, and people that have cell phones will probably have some sort of handsfree device anyways. Except Paris Hilton.

[Sirrich3]

It's always been that cops can pull people over for 1 over if they want, they just usually don't. I've actually heard a motorcycle cop say he only pulled people over for doing 85 and up when he was working Radar. But it's all preference.

My uncle is a superior judge for LA county. He says that they hate when officers do this for 1-5 miles over the speed limit. They usually tend to throw them out unlesss the person has several incidents of this happening. It is a tedious situation and depens on what and when the officer is issuing the ticket.

[Chgoman]

The reason for the 5MPH leniency is that when the radar systems first came out, they had about a 8% margin of error which translated to 5MPH at higher speeds. If they gave you a ticket for going 3 over you could dispute it simply based on the margin of error on the machine.

The machines are far more accurate today, but there is still a margin of error and they have to be calibrated regularly so they still usually allow the 5 over.

[VTGreg]

peachy... welcome to the police state.

Even though the email was debunked, how does actually enforcing laws that are currently on the books equal a police state.

Every one of those fines are actually laws and if the fines were higher individuals, including myself, would pay them more credence.