Oct
4
Traffic School Teacher Answers Questions About Kids on Scooters, Passing in an Intersection and Driving Over 100 Mph
Filed Under National, State, Local | Comments Off
M. Pearl asked:
Question: How safe is it for a child to ride a motorized scooter to school in California and if it is not legal, does the child have to attend traffic school if they get a citation?
Answer: Unless the rider has a valid driver’s license or instructional permit, not only is it not legal for a child to drive a motorized scooter; is not safe, nor is it cheap. However, traffic school is not a possible consequence for the young offender.
And here is a little heads-up for those parents that knowingly disregard the law and let their children ride motorized scooters to school anyway. The fine for a non-licensed rider on a motor scooter is around $100.00. In addition, if the scooter has been modified and is too loud, or it was being ridden anywhere but in a bike lane, or if the rider is under the age of 18 and riding without a helmet, three more $100.00 fines can be added to the party.
It might be time for some students to rediscover the lost art of placing one foot in front of the other…..
Q: My family is having a friendly debate. While waiting behind a vehicle to turn, I proceeded to drive in the right-hand turn lane and then continue straight ahead to pass on the right side of the vehicle making a left turn.
Some people in the car said that the maneuver was illegal because I was changing lanes in the intersection. I was told that by an officer that taught a traffic school class I attended years ago that changing lanes in an intersection is OK. Can you tell me if anything that was done was illegal?
A: The good news is that the traffic school officer was right …. The bad news is that you still did something wrong.
However, the example you illustrated was one in which you were proceeding to drive straight ahead from a specifically marked right turn lane. This is not legal. The violation is referred to as “improperly passing on the right” and will net you a fine of well over $150.00 in most California counties .
I’d say the family debate ended in a draw.
Q: What kind of fine/punishment can my son expect for going 105 miles per hour at 3 AM?
A: 105 miles per hour? Ouch! I hope that you are sitting down for this answer. The fine in most California counties for driving over 100 mph is well over $400. In addition, this is a two point offense, and violators are not ordinarily offered the option of traffic school as a means of masking their points for this violation. This can mean a very steep rise in your son’s insurance rates, as well.
I have a feeling that if you have to help your son pay for this little 3 AM indiscretion, he might find a new, more personal meaning in the words “Too Fast, Too Furious”.
~
ABRAHAM
Question: How safe is it for a child to ride a motorized scooter to school in California and if it is not legal, does the child have to attend traffic school if they get a citation?
Answer: Unless the rider has a valid driver’s license or instructional permit, not only is it not legal for a child to drive a motorized scooter; is not safe, nor is it cheap. However, traffic school is not a possible consequence for the young offender.
And here is a little heads-up for those parents that knowingly disregard the law and let their children ride motorized scooters to school anyway. The fine for a non-licensed rider on a motor scooter is around $100.00. In addition, if the scooter has been modified and is too loud, or it was being ridden anywhere but in a bike lane, or if the rider is under the age of 18 and riding without a helmet, three more $100.00 fines can be added to the party.
It might be time for some students to rediscover the lost art of placing one foot in front of the other…..
Q: My family is having a friendly debate. While waiting behind a vehicle to turn, I proceeded to drive in the right-hand turn lane and then continue straight ahead to pass on the right side of the vehicle making a left turn.
Some people in the car said that the maneuver was illegal because I was changing lanes in the intersection. I was told that by an officer that taught a traffic school class I attended years ago that changing lanes in an intersection is OK. Can you tell me if anything that was done was illegal?
A: The good news is that the traffic school officer was right …. The bad news is that you still did something wrong.
___________________________________________________________________
However, the example you illustrated was one in which you were proceeding to drive straight ahead from a specifically marked right turn lane. This is not legal. The violation is referred to as “improperly passing on the right” and will net you a fine of well over $150.00 in most California counties .
I’d say the family debate ended in a draw.
Q: What kind of fine/punishment can my son expect for going 105 miles per hour at 3 AM?
A: 105 miles per hour? Ouch! I hope that you are sitting down for this answer. The fine in most California counties for driving over 100 mph is well over $400. In addition, this is a two point offense, and violators are not ordinarily offered the option of traffic school as a means of masking their points for this violation. This can mean a very steep rise in your son’s insurance rates, as well.
I have a feeling that if you have to help your son pay for this little 3 AM indiscretion, he might find a new, more personal meaning in the words “Too Fast, Too Furious”.
~
ABRAHAM
Sep
20
Traffic School Teacher/mother Explains New California Teen Driving Laws
Filed Under National, State, Local | Comments Off
M. Pearl asked:
“I think they’re stupid!”
This was the from-the-heart answer that I received from my son (that just started driver training last weekend) when I asked him what he thought about the new, stricter laws for young drivers in California that came into play just a few years back.
Then, after the “uh-oh, she’s going to write about this” look of realization came across his face he added, “But it’s probably actually smart because when teenagers first learn to drive they are all crazy, and then, after a while, they calm down. And it would be bad if they got a ticket and had to go to traffic school, right?”
I smiled at that answer. You have got to give the kid credit for trying.
“So what do you really think of the new laws?” I asked him.
“They’re totally stupid!” he replied.
Becoming a licensed driver for those under the age of 18 already required jumping through quite a few hoops. Just to get a permit to drive, a young driver must complete 30 hours of classroom driver training, after which they must pass a written test. Once they have their permit in hand, it will be another 6 months before they can apply for a drivers license. But sitting idle during this time is not an option. In that 6 months, the new driver must complete at least 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training from a DMV licensed school and another 50 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction from any licensed driver, 25 or over.
More than likely, if you are the parent or guardian of the young driver that means that you have just become an official driving and traffic school instructor.
If doing donuts in the parking lot of the mall in the early AM with your new driver makes you a tad nervous, perhaps I had better not mention that 10 of those 50 hours of additional training must be completed at night.
Then, after they pass the dreaded written test and the always nerve-racking behind-the-wheel exam at the DMV, the license that they receive has strings attached until they are 18. The license is called “provisional”; which in DMV-speak means, “If you mess up, even a little, we will take it back so fast that it will make your head spin - and one wrong move and you’ll be sentenced to juvenile traffic school which will put a serious crimp in several of your beloved Saturdays.”
Here is where the newer laws come in which are, no doubt, adding to teen angst throughout California. For the first 12 months that they have their license, a driver under 18 cannot drive between the hours of 11:00 PM-5:00 AM. Previously the law stated that they could not drive from 12:00 AM to 5:00 AM, with the restriction only lasting for 6 months.
The real whining, though, comes from the other updated provision. Now, new drivers cannot drive passengers under the age of 20, unless there is a licensed driver in the vehicle 25 years of age or over for an entire year after they first get their license, not just 6 months as before.
This effectively destroys all hope of joy-riding in the wee hours with your buds after you become a legal driver-for quite some time. Even better news for parents; a new driver can drive a little brother or sister around without penalty as long as they carry a signed parental note.
This was news that was especially thrilling to my about-to-be driving teenage son.
As a traffic school teacher and mother of a new driver, what do I think of the new laws?
They’re smart. Totally smart.
~
SPENCER
“I think they’re stupid!”
This was the from-the-heart answer that I received from my son (that just started driver training last weekend) when I asked him what he thought about the new, stricter laws for young drivers in California that came into play just a few years back.
Then, after the “uh-oh, she’s going to write about this” look of realization came across his face he added, “But it’s probably actually smart because when teenagers first learn to drive they are all crazy, and then, after a while, they calm down. And it would be bad if they got a ticket and had to go to traffic school, right?”
___________________________________________________________________
I smiled at that answer. You have got to give the kid credit for trying.
“So what do you really think of the new laws?” I asked him.
“They’re totally stupid!” he replied.
Becoming a licensed driver for those under the age of 18 already required jumping through quite a few hoops. Just to get a permit to drive, a young driver must complete 30 hours of classroom driver training, after which they must pass a written test. Once they have their permit in hand, it will be another 6 months before they can apply for a drivers license. But sitting idle during this time is not an option. In that 6 months, the new driver must complete at least 6 hours of behind-the-wheel training from a DMV licensed school and another 50 hours of behind-the-wheel instruction from any licensed driver, 25 or over.
More than likely, if you are the parent or guardian of the young driver that means that you have just become an official driving and traffic school instructor.
If doing donuts in the parking lot of the mall in the early AM with your new driver makes you a tad nervous, perhaps I had better not mention that 10 of those 50 hours of additional training must be completed at night.
Then, after they pass the dreaded written test and the always nerve-racking behind-the-wheel exam at the DMV, the license that they receive has strings attached until they are 18. The license is called “provisional”; which in DMV-speak means, “If you mess up, even a little, we will take it back so fast that it will make your head spin - and one wrong move and you’ll be sentenced to juvenile traffic school which will put a serious crimp in several of your beloved Saturdays.”
Here is where the newer laws come in which are, no doubt, adding to teen angst throughout California. For the first 12 months that they have their license, a driver under 18 cannot drive between the hours of 11:00 PM-5:00 AM. Previously the law stated that they could not drive from 12:00 AM to 5:00 AM, with the restriction only lasting for 6 months.
The real whining, though, comes from the other updated provision. Now, new drivers cannot drive passengers under the age of 20, unless there is a licensed driver in the vehicle 25 years of age or over for an entire year after they first get their license, not just 6 months as before.
This effectively destroys all hope of joy-riding in the wee hours with your buds after you become a legal driver-for quite some time. Even better news for parents; a new driver can drive a little brother or sister around without penalty as long as they carry a signed parental note.
This was news that was especially thrilling to my about-to-be driving teenage son.
As a traffic school teacher and mother of a new driver, what do I think of the new laws?
They’re smart. Totally smart.
~
SPENCER