2025 brings handful of new California car laws

With the new year comes new laws in California. Specifically, there are at least four related to cars. Let's take a look at what takes effect on Jan. 1.

OAKLAND, Calif. - With the new year comes new laws in California. Specifically, there are at least four related to cars.

Let's take a look at what takes effect on Jan. 1.

Parking near a crosswalk

AB 413 is also known as the "daylighting law."

Drivers will no longer be able to park within 20 feet of an unmarked or marked crosswalk.

The goal is to improve visibility for pedestrians and potentially reduce the number of accidents.

"It’s just about a site line and making sure that people who are in cars and driving have the ability to see people who are on foot or on a bike," said Kevin Claxton, the director of advancement for Cal Bike, one of the bill's sponsors.

SFMTA diagram shows how the clearance of 20 feet can make a big difference for street safety.

More than 40 other states have some kind of daylighting law like this.

"In places where this has been implemented, you see a really strong reduction in pedestrian crashes. The federal highway administration says that if this is implemented properly, it can prevent up to 30% of pedestrian crashes," said Liza Lutzker, a research data analyst at UC Berkeley's SafeTREC.

In November, San Francisco tried to get a jumpstart on this law, and began issuing warning letters to drivers parked in those spaces. SFMTA has also been given the green light to finish painting the curbs of these spaces red.

The city of Emeryville is taking it a step further by adding bike racks to these spaces.

There is a 60-day grace period, but by March, drivers will face a fine if parked within 20 feet of the approach side of the crosswalk.

Fines will vary from city to city, but will likely range from about $40 to $100.

Locked door loophole

Under the old law, convicting a suspect of auto burglary required that prosecutors prove not just that the person entered the vehicle without permission or did so forcibly, but also that the vehicle was locked. A broken window wasn't enough; prosecutors had to prove that the door was locked.

SB 905 eliminates this requirement, which also demanded that drivers testify about the locked doors.

Now, "forcible entry" will be enough to prove the crime of auto burglary, which may be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony.

Driver's license discrimination

SB 1100 makes it illegal for a job posting to require applicants to have a valid driver’s license.

There are two reasons why an employer could still require this, including if driving is one of the job's main functions or if taking another form of transportation would not be comparable in travel time or cost to the employer.

Insurance minimums

California is raising the minimum amount of liability coverage drivers must carry.

On January 1, minimums will increase, and all insurance policies will be required to have at least $30,000 for bodily injury or death per person, $60,000 for bodily injury or death per accident and $15,000 for property damage per accident.

The pervious requirements were $15,000, $30,000 and $5,000 respectively.

In a blog post by AAA, they said your insurer will update this without the need for you to do anything. You may notice an increase in your insurance premium.

Cars and Trucks California