New Laws Affect Truck Bed Riders, Bicyclists, Youthful Drinkers

Dear Readers:

‘Tis the season for new traffic laws. At the stroke of midnight on New Year’s, about 200 new laws affecting drivers will go into effect, according to the California Highway Patrol. These in particular may have the most widespread impact.

Senate Bill 689: Drivers under 21 found driving with a blood alcohol level of .01% or higher automatically will lose their driving privilege for one year.

Also, a driver under 21 with a blood alcohol level at or above .08% may be arrested and prosecuted for driving under the influence. Drivers under 18 with a blood alcohol level of .05% to .07% may be arrested and prosecuted and fined $100 if convicted.

Also, drivers of any age who refuse to submit to a blood alcohol test or fail one will lose their driving privileges for one year.

Assembly Bill 153: This law generally will prevent people from riding in pickup beds or on truck flatbeds on public roads and highways. Passengers may legally ride in the backs of these trucks only if they are strapped in by a lap belt attached to a seat bolted into the bed or if the truck bed is covered by a camper shell.

The current law prohibits children under 12 from riding in the beds of pickups and does not apply if someone 18 or older is with them.

Under the new law, drivers and passengers alike can be cited.

California Highway Patrol Commissioner Maury Hannigan said the CHP will begin enforcement immediately.

“In years past, we have deferred the issuance of citations for certain new traffic laws so as to give motorists the opportunity to learn the law has in fact been changed,” Hannigan said. “But 86 people riding in the beds of pickups were killed in 1991 and 1992, and we don’t want to see any more deaths of this kind. Therefore, we’re going to cite violators of this statute beginning the first day of 1994.”

While it is not illegal to ride in a truck bed covered by a camper shell, Hannigan advises against it. Most camper shells are not strong enough to protect anyone in a collision, he said.

Assembly Bill 2268: This law already has received considerable media attention. It prohibits anyone under 18 from riding a bicycle on a public street without a bicycle helmet that has been certified by the American National Standards Institute or the Snell Foundation. It also will be illegal to sell bicycle helmets that fail to meet those standards.

Violators of the bicycle helmet law will receive verbal warnings only during 1994, but beginning Jan. 1, 1995, violators will be cited. The maximum penalty will be $25.

Senate Bill 60: People convicted of carjacking will receive mandatory sentences of three to nine years in state prison. If the crime includes kidnaping, the sentence will be life without the possibility of parole. If the carjacking results in a death, the charge will be first-degree homicide.

In addition, charges in carjacking cases may not be reduced through plea bargaining, and judges may no longer give suspended sentences or probation to convicted carjackers. Juveniles accused of carjacking may be tried as adults.