Q: Are these actual new laws?
– Kioren Moss, Ventura
A: Kioren sent Honk a screenshot of new laws for e-bikes that popped up on Google. The problem is the provided info was via artificial intelligence and in this case simplified the answers to where they weren’t all true.
With the help of the California Highway Patrol, Kioren and Honk’s crack research team, which consists of himself, below is a list of new laws for e-bikers and motorists (Unless otherwise noted, the laws took effect on Wednesday, Jan. 1):
A new law makes it illegal to sell devices to tweak an e-bike’s speed beyond what is allowed. …
Municipalities in Marin County, up in the Bay Area, can now pass a law making it illegal for someone under age 16 to use a class 2 electric bike. A local law can also be passed to require helmets when riding a class 2. Under California law, there are three levels of electric bikes. A class 2 has a motor allowing the rider to not use pedals if desired, but it can’t help propel the bike at all when it is going 20-plus mph. …
A local government in San Diego County can now, if it chooses, create a law making it illegal for those under 12 years old to ride the two lower-level classifications of electric bikes. Already, everywhere in the state, only those above age 16 can ride a class 3. …
Tollroad agencies can tell law enforcement agencies immediately if vehicles have been on their systems when an emergency is declared, say to help find those suspected of holding missing people, having attacked a law enforcement officer or wanted for a hit-and-run that left someone dead. In the past, time-consuming search warrants were a must. …
A cop no longer has to take a driver into custody to seize a vehicle that was blocking off traffic for a street race or “exhibition of speed,” which can be doing doughnuts or burning rubber. …
Officers have been able to make an arrest and seize the vehicle for up to 30 days if someone is accused of street racing, reckless driving or exhibition of speed on a public street. Now, an arrest and seizure can occur for violations in an off-street parking facility as well. …
Drivers can’t park within 20 feet of an intersection, or 15 feet if there is a curb extension. This law is meant to make it easier for walkers and drivers to see one another so less collisions occur. …
The city of Malibu can now join the six cities permitted to establish a pilot program in which devices detect speeders and help issue violations. In Malibu, they are now allowed along Pacific Coast Highway. On Oct. 17, 2023, authorities have said, a motorist going 100-plus mph lost control on PCH and killed four Pepperdine students standing on the road’s side; since 2010, at least 59 people have been killed on PCH inside the city’s limits by vehicle collisions. The other cities that already had permission for the camera devices: Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, Long Beach and San Francisco. …
The Clean Air Vehicle Decals program, which lets qualified owners of selected cars and trucks that have low or zero emissions get stickers allowing them to go solo in carpool lanes, is set to expire on Sept. 30. This law, if federal officials agree, would extend the program until Jan. 1, 2027. It is unclear which sticker colors, if any, would get extensions or if new types of vehicles would be accepted into the program. …
It is now illegal to tamper with driver assistance or autonomous technology or even have or sell the devices that override the systems. …
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. To see him on the social media platform X: @OCRegisterHonk
