This year, many new rules of the road are going into effect for drivers in California, including when officers can lawfully pull you over.
Traditionally, the question, “Do you know why I pulled you over?” is one often associated with police officers and traffic stops, but now, officers must first state the purpose of the stop before asking any other questions.
“Maybe you were swishing your hair or you look cross-eyed or whatever; I think there should be a legitimate reason that any officer pulls over any person,” said Estelle Johansen, a resident of the Santa Ynez Valley.
According to California Assemblymember Chris Holden who wrote the bill requiring officers to provide the reason for pulling over drivers, the law was passed to reduce pretextual stops and de-escalate interactions between police and civilians.
Sabrina Mokuahi-Reyes of Arroyo Grande admits she has some hesitation about officers not being able to ask if a driver knows why they were stopped.
“I don’t understand why they couldn’t ask,” Mokuahi-Reyes said.
Another new law, Assembly Bill 256, will prohibit officers from pulling over a driver solely because of an expired vehicle registration sticker if it's before the second month after the month of expiration.
“It may be benefiting people that it should not benefit,” Johansen said.
Mokuahi-Reyes agrees the law could discourage people from renewing their registration.
“Considering there are a lot of people who don’t renew their tags on a timely basis, that would cause concern for me,” she told KSBY.
“I think if we are not abiding by the laws, which is to have your registration done when it is supposed to be up and paid for, then it should stay that way,” Johansen added.
We also reached out to the Santa Maria office of the California Highway Patrol and the Santa Maria Police Department for comment on implementation of the new laws but they were unavailable.
Other traffic laws for 2024 include measures to cut down on illegal catalytic converter thefts and ending the statewide ban on low-rider cruising.
