Car laws: Mount those smart phones, child seats face rear

The new year will usher in new regulations on child safety seats and the use of hands-free devices by drivers.

The Indio, Riverside, San Gorgonio and Temecula California Highway Patrol offices reminded motorists that, beginning Jan. 1, Assembly Bills 53 and 1785 take effect.

AB 53, authored by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, D-Downey, requires that all children under 2 years old be secured in a rear-facing child safety restraint system. Existing law states that children under 8 years old must be strapped into a child safety seat, but there’s no special requirement about rear-facing seats for toddlers, though that option is always available.

“Rear-facing child safety seats support the child’s head and may prevent the large head from moving independently of the proportionately smaller neck,” preventing serious physical trauma, according to a statement attached to AB 53.

The bill provides exemptions for children who weigh more than 40 pounds, or are more than 40 inches tall. In those instances, a parent or guardian will be permitted to place the tot in a front-facing safety seat.

Violating the law will result in an infraction that carries a $100 penalty.

AB 1785, authored by Assemblyman Bill Quirk, D-Hayward, mandates that anyone using a wireless communications device while driving must have it mounted on the dashboard or windshield.

State law currently permits motorists to use cell phones or other wireless devices — as long as they are not holding the units while driving.

Quirk’s legislation specifies that the devices must be mounted or “embedded” in a vehicle’s interior panel. The only time a driver is allowed to touch the device is when he or she is activating or deactivating a “feature or function.” However, that process should only involve a “single swipe or tap of the driver’s finger,” according to the bill.

A Senate analysis of AB 1785 noted that “in 2015, there were 12 fatal collisions involving handheld cell phone use as an inattention factor, over 500 injury collisions and nearly 700 property damage collisions” statewide.

Violating the law will result in a $20 fine.

 

 

— City News Service