New California laws will affect car sales, parking, drivers and pedestrians
SAN FRANCISCO -- California drivers and pedestrians will see some changes on the roadways once 2024 begins.
AB 645 establishes a five-year pilot program for San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco, Long Beach, Los Angeles and Glendale to install a limited number of automatic speed cameras along certain roads. They'll take photos of a speeding car's license plate and the registered owner of the vehicle will get a ticket in the mail.
These cameras will not be installed in areas where the California Highway Patrol has primary jurisdiction and they won't just appear on Jan. 1.
"The agency that puts these cameras in will have to notify the public of where they're going to be put in and when they're going to be put in," said CHP officer Andrew Barclay. "January 1st is just the first day that this can start -- it's not saying that there necessarily will be cameras up on January 1st. It's just the first date that cities and counties are going to be allowed to start looking into this program."
AB 413 is taking effect as well. It prohibits people from parking cars within 20 feet of either side of a crosswalk. Motorized scooters and bicycles will still be allowed to park close to the crosswalk.
"This is aimed at increasing visibility of pedestrians but also visibility for pedestrians to see approaching vehicles," Barclay said. "Within cities, if we look at crashes involving pedestrians, we see them very often occurring at crosswalks. So, having that space, giving people more visibility, will hopefully allow people to see pedestrians, see vehicles and just keep everyone safer in the process."
Three laws designed to crack down on catalytic converter thefts will also take effect on Jan. 1.
"From a consumer standpoint, this is a big problem," Barclay said.
SB 55 prohibits car dealers from selling cars with catalytic converters unless the converter is marked with the vehicle identification number (VIN).
AB 641 makes it a misdemeanor for a person to have nine or more catalytic converters that have been cut from a vehicle in their possession.
AB 1519 makes it a misdemeanor to remove or alter a VIN on a catalytic converter.
Barclay says that, while these laws may not actually prevent thefts, they will help out law enforcement agencies tasked with investigating these crimes.
"This ... gives us more tools during these investigations," he said.