Q: I always get flustered when fire trucks or ambulances are behind me with their sirens on. I know I’m supposed to move to the right, but what do I do when other vehicles are blocking me or if I’m in the middle of an intersection?
A: It’s very important to not lose composure in these circumstances. In the event that you are in the middle of an intersection, do not stop; continue through the intersection and pull to the right when possible. If you are blocking other vehicles and the emergency vehicle needs to get through, they might give you direction, via their speaker, as to what to do. You must obey their orders even if it conflicts with roads signs and laws. After the emergency vehicle has passed, you may proceed. Be aware that you are not allowed to follow an emergency vehicle within 300 feet. If you follow the vehicle to the scene of the emergency, you can be arrested, since casual observers can interfere with the services of the emergency team.
For more information about what to do when as an emergency vehicle approaches, please visit www.dmv.ca.gov, and click on the Publications tab, under the Driver License Handbook drop down menu select California Driver Handbook 2010 and the information will be on page 58.
Do you have questions about general driving related requirements like registration and insurance? Are you unclear about laws and restrictions related to driving? The California Department of Motor Vehicles has answers at www.dmv.ca.gov.
Q. I am a United States Navy service member currently serving overseas in Okinawa, Japan. My California driver’s license expired more than a year ago and the address on my license is not current or updated. How can I renew my driver’s license?
A. You may change your address at the department’s website, www.dmv.ca.gov.
Since your driver’s license has been expired for over a year, you will have to renew in person. In the meantime, as a member of the military stationed outside of California, your license is statutorily extended until you return to California. Additional information on this subject is available on the department’s website. Save time. Go online!
Q: I have a Clean Air Vehicle sticker for my hybrid, but I heard that the sticker will no longer be valid. Is this true?
A: All hybrid vehicles that were issued with the Clean Air Vehicle (yellow) sticker through the VC Section 5205.5 Low Emission Vehicle Identification for High Occupancy Vehicle Lane use Tolls will no longer be valid as of July 1, 2011.
However, white Clean Air Stickers are still available to an unlimited number of qualifying Federal Inherently Low Emission Vehicles (ILEVs). Cars that meet these requirements are typically certified pure zero emission vehicles (100 percent battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell) and compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles. The expiration date for the white stickers has been extended to Jan. 1, 2015.
A new type of Clean Air Stickers, pending federal approval, will be available as of Jan. 1, 2012, and will be valid through Jan. 1, 2015 to the first 40,000 applicants that purchase or lease cars meeting California’s enhanced advanced technology partial zero emission vehicle (AT PZEV) requirements.
To learn more about the types of qualifying vehicles, visit the Air Resources Board California Clean Vehicle Incentives Fact Sheet at www.arb.ca.gov.
If the director of transportation determines that federal law does not authorize the state to allow vehicles that are identified by distinctive decals, labels, or other identifiers on vehicles to use highway lanes or highway access ramps for high-occupancy vehicles regardless of vehicle occupancy, the director of transportation shall submit a notice of that determination to the California secretary of state.
For more information about your Clean Air Vehicle sticker, visit the DMV Web site at www.dmv.ca.gov, and click on the Vehicle Registration tab, then Alternative Fuel Vehicles link, then Clean Air Vehicle Stickers-High Occupancy Vehicle Lane Usage. Save time. Go online. It’s safe, secure and convenient!
George Valverde is the director of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. The DMV is a department under the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, which is under the direction of Acting Undersecretary Traci Stevens. The DMV licenses drivers, maintains driving records, registers and tracks official ownership of vehicles and vessels, investigates auto and identity-related fraud, and licenses car dealers, driving schools, and traffic violator schools.
