DMV renewal notices may be delayed
If your car registration is due to be renewed July 1 or later, you may get an extra month to pay it. But it’s all part of a effort by state Democrats to buy time to reach a budget deal and to keep...
View ArticleDMV renewal notices delayed
It’s official: If your car registration is due to be renewed July 1 or later, you’ll get an extra month to pay it. Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation early this month approving the delay, which is a...
View ArticleTraffic school loophole closed
A state law takes effect July 1 to eliminate a loophole that allowed traffic violators to go to traffic school more often than they should’ve. Now, when you complete traffic school your conviction is...
View ArticleAlert on passing Caltrans, CHP vehicles
Reeling from the deaths of three workers over the last two months, Caltrans this week launched a statewide campaign to remind drivers that the law requires them to move over or to slow down when...
View Article30-day grace period for DMV registrations
With the state budget finally approve, the DMV has resumed its normal processing of car registration renewals but owners are getting a 30-day grace period. A DMV statement says registrations due in...
View ArticleHow much does a DUI cost?
Virtually every day the Sonoma County CHP issues a news release reporting its latest DUI arrests. This Friday, the county’s Avoid the 13 anti-DUI task force begins a two-week crackdown, including...
View ArticleNew DMV website unveiled
The DMV last month unveiled a new look and feel to its website, and it’s definitely easier to find information. It’s all part of the DMV’s effort to be customer friendly, said Mike Marando, a DMV...
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Santa Rosa DUI checkpoint
Friday night's DUI/license checkpoint on Fourth Street in front of the Safeway shopping center in Santa Rosa. Click to enlarge. Road Warrior photo The first indication of Friday night’s DUI/license...
View ArticleTough license laws backfiring?
Here’s an interesting story from the Associated Press: ————– By LINDSEY TANNER Associated Press CHICAGO — Strong driver’s license laws have led to fewer fatal crashes among 16-year-olds but with a...
View ArticleExpired plates? Go to jail
Driving to D.C.? Make sure your license plates won’t expire while you’re there. The District of Columbia apparently is the only place in the nation where drivers can be arrested and jailed if their...
View ArticleMailbag: Can you use businesses other than DMV?
A couple of Road Warrior readers have asked about websites offering to handle your DMV registration renewals for a fee. Are they legit? Should I use them? For example, when you google “California DMV,”...
View ArticleMailbag: Legal to drive barefoot?
Here’s a question from a reader: Is it legal to drive barefoot? No one seems to know. Jonathan The answer comes from DMV spokeswoman Jan Mendoza: “It is not illegal.” I think the myth that it was...
View ArticleMailbag: Do bicyclists have to stay in bikes lanes? Can you use disabled...
Here’s a question from a reader: Over a week ago I saw a group of about 20 cyclist heading north on Old Redwood in Windsor. This was a two-lane stretch near Hembree Lane with a clearly marked bicycle...
View ArticleWhat drivers have forgotten in the DMV handbook
We all carefully studied for our DMV driving test and intently tried to follow all of the rules and laws in the DMV handbook. So why is it that so many of us have forgotten so many of the basic rules?...
View ArticleMailbag: Alerting DMV to problem elderly drivers; carpool lanes; Barnes Road
Here’s a question from a reader: Is there a place to anonymously alert someone about an elderly driver who should no longer be driving? The answer comes from DMV spokeswoman Jessica Gonzalez, who...
View ArticleGovernor OKs bill allowing driverless cars
Here’s an interesting story from the Associated Press about driverless cars: MOUNTAIN VIEW (AP) — Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Tuesday that will pave the way for driverless cars in California....
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Now you again may get a vintage license plate
The gold plate was issued from 1956 to 1962. There’s something nostalgic about California’s license plates from the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. Now, you may be able to have them again or for the first time....
View ArticleMailbag: What’s a STAR smog test? Bicyclists must follow rules of the road
We’ve had several readers write in asking what the new STAR smog test program is. Here’s an answer: The state Bureau of Automotive Repair on Jan. 1 changed its smog test program by eliminating Gold...
View ArticleUnlicensed drivers more deadly than others
Unlicensed drivers and those whose licenses have been suspended or revoked are nearly three times more likely to cause a fatal crash than licensed drivers, a DMV study found. The study used crash data...
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Snoopy license plates available for preorder
A commemorative license plate featuring Charles Schulz’s beloved Peanuts character Snoopy can now be ordered online, the state announced Thursday. The license plate is available for preorder at...
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