New State Driving Laws Get Green Light on Wednesday

Beginning Wednesday, Jan. 1, California drivers will get an extra year between license renewals, will have to show proof of insurance to officers who pull them over, and will face tougher requirements to acquire placards for handicapped parking spaces.

The changes are all contained in new driving-related laws that were passed by the state Legislature in 1996 and go into effect on the first day of 1997. In addition to licensing, insurance and parking placards, they deal with drugs, foreign visitors and the Internet.

Here are the laws:

* Licensing terms--Beginning in 1997, new or renewed California driver’s licenses will be good for five years instead of four, as has been the case for more than 40 years. The change eventually will save the state at least $4 million annually in processing costs, said William Madison, a spokesman for the California Department of Motor Vehicles. As part of the economizing effort, the fee for a license will increase from $12 to $15.

* Proof of insurance--California law requires all drivers in the state to carry auto insurance. Until now, they were required to show proof of it only when they were involved in accidents. This law requires drivers to show evidence of insurance when officers stop them for traffic violations and when they renew vehicle registrations.

It also increases the penalties for driving without insurance from a maximum of $250 to $500-$1,000 for the first offense.

Currently, car owners renewing their registration only are required to supply the name of an insurance company and policy number, neither of which is generally checked by the DMV.

Under the new law, they must submit a copy of the card issued by the company as documentation of insurance.

Proof of insurance for a law enforcement officer, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol said, will consist of the name of a company and policy number.

While the CHP will not be able to verify the authenticity of a policy in the field, spokesman Steve Kohler said, it has the authority to verify it later. In most cases though, he said, “If people show us what looks like legitimate proof, it’s not going to go any further than that.”

* Disabled-parking placards--This law was inspired by what the Legislature perceived as widespread abuse of use of placards for handicapped parking spaces. Madison said the abuse took two forms: Some physicians routinely certified placards for drivers who didn’t really need them, and some disabled drivers let friends and relatives use their placards.

The new law will require doctors to provide much more detailed medical information in documenting a driver’s need for a placard. And, for the first time, it will make that information available to law enforcement officers and local traffic agencies responsible for managing parking areas that include reserved spaces.

“The information used to be confidential,” Madison said. “Now we will be required to make it available.”

* Drug convictions--Since September, emergency legislation has required a six-month suspension of the driver’s license of anyone convicted of a drug offense. The law was passed to fulfill federal requirements for the funding of certain law enforcement programs. The law will be reconsidered in March.

* Foreign visitors--Frequent and long delays by the Immigration and Naturalization Service in verifying the status of legal, non-immigrant visitors from abroad have caused major headaches for them when applying for California driver’s licenses. Long-term visitors, such as U.S.-based employees of foreign companies, typically are issued temporary licenses subject to verification of their status. But those licenses expire after 90 days, often before the INS has done its work, Madison said. The new law will extend the temporary licenses for another 120 days.

* Nonoperational vehicles--California law has long allowed the owner of a vehicle that is not to be driven to register it as nonoperational. This is often useful for people who, for instance, like to tinker with junkers or collect vintage cars.

Until now, that registration had to be completed before the old registration expired and needed to be renewed every year for a $5 annual fee. Under a new law passed this year, an owner will be able to convert a car to nonoperational status up to 90 days after its regular registration has expired, and will have to pay only a one-time $10 fee.

* Consumer protection--This law requires the DMV to make information available on its World Wide Web site to help people in buying new or used cars. Specifically, Madison said, the information will tell you “what to look out for and what you can do” to avoid common pitfalls such as buying a lemon, ending up with a stolen vehicle or getting cheated in a transaction. The information is expected to be on the Web site by July. The project will cost about $42,000, he said.

Street Smart appears Mondays in The Times Orange County Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic, commuting and what makes it difficult to get around in Orange County. Include simple sketches if helpful. Letters may be published in upcoming columns. Please write to David Haldane, c/o Street Smart, The Times Orange County Edition, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, CA 92626, send faxes to (714) 966-7711 or e-mail him at David.Haldane@latimes.com Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted.