26700. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a passenger
vehicle, other than a motorcycle, and every bus, motortruck or truck
tractor, and every firetruck, fire engine or other fire apparatus,
whether publicly or privately owned, shall be equipped with an
adequate windshield.
(b) Subdivision (a) does not apply to any vehicle issued
identification plates pursuant to Section 5004 which was not required
to be equipped with a windshield at the time it was first sold or
registered under the laws of this state, another state, or foreign
jurisdiction.
26701. (a) No person shall sell, offer for sale, or operate any
motor vehicle, except a motorcycle, manufactured after January 1,
1936, unless it is equipped with safety glazing material wherever
glazing materials are used in interior partitions, doors, windows,
windshields, auxiliary wind deflectors or openings in the roof.
(b) No person shall sell or offer for sale any camper manufactured
after January 1, 1968, nor shall any person operate a motor vehicle
registered in this state which is equipped with that camper, unless
the camper is equipped with safety glazing materials wherever glazing
materials are used in outside windows and doors, interior
partitions, and openings in the roof.
(c) No person shall operate a motorcycle manufactured after
January 1, 1969, equipped with a windshield containing glazing
material unless it is safety glazing material.
(d) No person shall sell, offer for sale, or operate any motor
vehicle equipped with red, blue, or amber translucent aftermarket
material in any partitions, windows, windshields, or wind deflectors.
(e) No person shall sell, offer for sale, or operate any trailer
coach manufactured after January 1, 1977, that is capable of being
towed with a fifth-wheel device unless the trailer coach is equipped
with safety glazing materials wherever glazing materials are used in
windows or doors, interior partitions, and openings in the roof.
26703. (a) No person shall replace any glazing materials used in
interior partitions, doors, windows, or openings in the roof in any
motor vehicle, in the outside windows, doors, interior partitions, or
openings in the roof of any camper, or in windows, doors, interior
partitions, or openings in the roof of any camper, or in windows,
doors, interior partitions, or openings in the roof of a trailer
coach capable of being towed with a fifth-wheel device, with any
glazing material other than safety glazing material.
(b) No person shall replace any glazing material used in the
windshield, rear window, auxiliary wind deflectors, or windows to the
left and right of the driver with any material other than safety
glazing material.
26704. Wherever the term "safety glazing material" is used in this
article, it means safety glazing material of a type meeting
requirements established by the department.
26705. On or after January 1, 1969, no person shall sell or offer
for sale for use upon or as part of the equipment of a motorcycle any
motorcycle windshield unless the glazing material used therein is
safety glazing material.
26706. (a) Every motor vehicle, except motorcycles, equipped with a
windshield shall also be equipped with a self-operating windshield
wiper.
(b) Every new motor vehicle first registered after December 31,
1949, except motorcycles, shall be equipped with two such windshield
wipers, one mounted on the right half and one on the left half of the
windshield, except that any motor vehicle may be equipped with a
single wiper so long as it meets the wiped area requirements in
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards Governing Windshield Wiping
and Washing Systems.
(c) This section does not apply to snow removal equipment equipped
with adequate manually operated windshield wipers.
26707. Windshield wipers required by this code shall be maintained
in good operating condition and shall provide clear vision through
the windshield for the driver. Wipers shall be operated under
conditions of fog, snow, or rain and shall be capable of effectively
clearing the windshield under all ordinary storm or load conditions
while the vehicle is in operation.
26708. (a) (1) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any
object or material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied
upon the windshield or side or rear windows.
(2) No person shall drive any motor vehicle with any object or
material placed, displayed, installed, affixed, or applied in or upon
the vehicle which obstructs or reduces the driver's clear view
through the windshield or side windows.
(3) This subdivision applies to a person driving a motor vehicle
with the driver's clear vision through the windshield, or side or
rear windows, obstructed by snow or ice.
(b) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(1) Rearview mirrors.
(2) Adjustable nontransparent sunvisors which are mounted forward
of the side windows and are not attached to the glass.
(3) Signs, stickers, or other materials which are displayed in a
7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed
from the driver, signs, stickers, or other materials which are
displayed in a 7-inch square in the lower corner of the rear window
farthest removed from the driver, or signs, stickers, or other
materials which are displayed in a 5-inch square in the lower corner
of the windshield nearest the driver.
(4) Side windows which are to the rear of the driver.
(5) Direction, destination, or termini signs upon a passenger
common carrier motor vehicle or a schoolbus, if those signs do not
interfere with the driver's clear view of approaching traffic.
(6) Rear window wiper motor.
(7) Rear trunk lid handle or hinges.
(8) The rear window or windows, when the motor vehicle is equipped
with outside mirrors on both the left- and right-hand sides of the
vehicle that are so located as to reflect to the driver a view of the
highway through each mirror for a distance of at least 200 feet to
the rear of the vehicle.
(9) A clear, transparent lens affixed to the side window opposite
the driver on a vehicle greater than 80 inches in width and which
occupies an area not exceeding 50 square inches of the lowest corner
toward the rear of that window and which provides the driver with a
wide-angle view through the lens.
(10) Sun screening devices meeting the requirements of Section
26708.2 installed on the side windows on either side of the vehicle's
front seat, if the driver or a passenger in the front seat has in
his or her possession a letter or other document signed by a licensed
physician and surgeon certifying that the person must be shaded from
the sun due to a medical condition, or has in his or her possession
a letter or other document signed by a licensed optometrist
certifying that the person must be shaded from the sun due to a
visual condition. The devices authorized by this paragraph shall not
be used during darkness.
(11) An electronic communication device affixed to the center
uppermost portion of the interior of a windshield within an area that
is not greater than 5 inches square, if the device provides either
of the following:
(A) The capability for enforcement facilities of the Department of
the California Highway Patrol to communicate with a vehicle equipped
with the device.
(B) The capability for electronic toll and traffic management on
public or private roads or facilities.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), transparent material may be
installed, affixed, or applied to the topmost portion of the
windshield if the following conditions apply:
(1) The bottom edge of the material is at least 29 inches above
the undepressed driver's seat when measured from a point 5 inches in
front of the bottom of the backrest with the driver's seat in its
rearmost and lowermost position with the vehicle on a level surface.
(2) The material is not red or amber in color.
(3) There is no opaque lettering on the material and any other
lettering does not affect primary colors or distort vision through
the windshield.
(4) The material does not reflect sunlight or headlight glare into
the eyes of occupants of oncoming or following vehicles to any
greater extent than the windshield without the material.
(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), clear, colorless, and
transparent material may be installed, affixed, or applied to the
front side windows, located to the immediate left and right of the
front seat if the following conditions are met:
(1) The material has a minimum visible light transmittance of 88
percent.
(2) The window glazing with the material applied meets all
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 205 (49
C.F.R. 571.205), including the specified minimum light transmittance
of 70 percent and the abrasion resistance of AS-14 glazing, as
specified in that federal standard.
(3) The material is designed and manufactured to enhance the
ability of the existing window glass to block the sun's harmful
ultraviolet A rays.
(4) The driver has in his or her possession, or within the
vehicle, a certificate signed by the installing company certifying
that the windows with the material installed meet the requirements of
this subdivision and identifies the installing company and the
material's manufacturer by full name and street address, or, if the
material was installed by the vehicle owner, a certificate signed by
the material's manufacturer certifying that the windows with the
material installed according to manufacturer's instructions meets the
requirements of this subdivision and identifies the material's
manufacturer by full name and street address.
(5) If the material described in this subdivision tears or
bubbles, or is otherwise worn to prohibit clear vision, it shall be
removed or replaced.
26708.2. Sun screening devices permitted by paragraph (10) of
subdivision (b) of Section 26708 shall meet the following
requirements:
(a) The devices shall be held in place by means allowing ready
removal from the window area, such as a frame, a rigid material with
temporary fasteners, or a flexible roller shade.
(b) Devices utilizing transparent material shall be green, gray,
or a neutral smoke in color and shall have a luminous transmittance
of not less than 35 percent.
(c) Devices utilizing nontransparent louvers or other alternating
patterns of opaque and open sections shall have an essentially
uniform pattern over the entire surface, except for framing and
supports. At least 35 percent of the device area shall be open and
no individual louver or opaque section shall have a projected
vertical dimension exceeding 3/16 inch.
(d) The devices shall not have a reflective quality exceeding 35
percent on either the inner or outer surface.
26708.5. (a) No person shall place, install, affix, or apply any
transparent material upon the windshield, or side or rear windows, of
any motor vehicle if the material alters the color or reduces the
light transmittance of the windshield or side or rear windows, except
as provided in subdivision (b), (c), or (d) of Section 26708.
(b) Tinted safety glass may be installed in a vehicle if (1) the
glass complies with motor vehicle safety standards of the United
States Department of Transportation for safety glazing materials, and
(2) the glass is installed in a location permitted by those
standards for the particular type of glass used.
26709. (a) Every motor vehicle registered in a foreign jurisdiction
and every motorcycle subject to registration in this state shall be
equipped with a mirror so located as to reflect to the driver a view
of the highway for a distance of at least 200 feet to the rear of
such vehicle.
Every motor vehicle subject to registration in this state, except
a motorcycle, shall be equipped with not less than two such mirrors,
including one affixed to the left-hand side.
(b) The following described types of motor vehicles, of a type
subject to registration, shall be equipped with mirrors on both the
left- and right-hand sides of the vehicle so located as to reflect to
the driver a view of the highway through each mirror for a distance
of at least 200 feet to the rear of such vehicle:
(1) A motor vehicle so constructed or loaded as to obstruct the
driver's view to the rear.
(2) A motor vehicle towing a vehicle and the towed vehicle or load
thereon obstructs the driver's view to the rear.
(3) A bus or trolley coach.
(c) The provisions of subdivision (b) shall not apply to a
passenger vehicle when the load obstructing the driver's view
consists of passengers.
26710. It is unlawful to operate any motor vehicle upon a highway
when the windshield or rear window is in such a defective condition
as to impair the driver's vision either to the front or rear.
In the event any windshield or rear window fails to comply with
this code the officer making the inspection shall direct the driver
to make the windshield and rear window conform to the requirements of
this code within 48 hours. The officer may also arrest the driver
and give him notice to appear and further require the driver or the
owner of the vehicle to produce in court satisfactory evidence that
the windshield or rear window has been made to conform to the
requirements of this code.
26711. Every bus or trolley coach, except those first registered
prior to January 1, 1960, and engaged in urban and suburban service
as defined in Section 35107, shall be equipped with movable eyeshades
of sufficient size to shade the eyes of the operator of a bus or
trolley coach while it is being driven facing the sun.
26712. Every passenger vehicle used or maintained for the
transportation of persons for hire, compensation, or profit shall be
equipped with a defrosting device which is adequate to remove snow,
ice, frost, fog, or internal moisture from the windshield.
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