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   CALIFORNIA VEHICLE CODE    

   :: SECTION 40800-40808

 

40800.  Every traffic officer on duty for the exclusive or main
purpose of enforcing the provisions of Division 10 or 11 of this code
shall wear a full distinctive uniform, and if the officer while so
on duty uses a motor vehicle, it must be painted a distinctive color
specified by the commissioner.
   This section does not apply to an officer assigned exclusively to
the duty of investigating and securing evidence in reference to any
theft of a vehicle or failure of a person to stop in the event of an
accident or violation of Section 23109 or in reference to any felony
charge, or to any officer engaged in serving any warrant when the
officer is not engaged in patrolling the highways for the purpose of
enforcing the traffic laws.



40801.  No peace officer or other person shall use a speed trap in
arresting, or participating or assisting in the arrest of, any person
for any alleged violation of this code nor shall any speed trap be
used in securing evidence as to the speed of any vehicle for the
purpose of an arrest or prosecution under this code.




40802.  (a) A "speed trap" is either of the following:
   (1) A particular section of a highway measured as to distance and
with boundaries marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order
that the speed of a vehicle may be calculated by securing the time it
takes the vehicle to travel the known distance.
   (2) A particular section of a highway with a prima facie speed
limit that is provided by this code or by local ordinance under
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
22352, or established under Section 22354, 22357, 22358, or 22358.3,
if that prima facie speed limit is not justified by an engineering
and traffic survey conducted within five years prior to the date of
the alleged violation, and enforcement of the speed limit involves
the use of radar or any other electronic device that measures the
speed of moving objects.  This paragraph does not apply to a local
street, road, or school zone.
   (b) (1) For purposes of this section, a local street or road is
defined by the latest functional usage and federal-aid system maps
submitted to the federal Highway Administration, except that when
these maps have not been submitted, or when the street or road is not
shown on the maps, a "local street or road" means a street or road
that primarily provides access to abutting residential property and
meets the following three conditions:
   (A) Roadway width of not more than 40 feet.
   (B) Not more than one-half of a mile of uninterrupted length.
Interruptions shall include official traffic control signals as
defined in Section 445.
   (C) Not more than one traffic lane in each direction.
   (2) For purposes of this section "school zone" means that area
approaching or passing a school building or the grounds thereof that
is contiguous to a highway and on which is posted a standard "SCHOOL"
warning sign, while children are going to or leaving the school
either during school hours or during the noon recess period.  "School
zone" also includes the area approaching or passing any school
grounds that are not separated from the highway by a fence, gate, or
other physical barrier while the grounds are in use by children if
that highway is posted with a standard "SCHOOL" warning sign.
   (c) (1) When all of the following criteria are met, paragraph (2)
of this subdivision shall be applicable and subdivision (a) shall not
be applicable:
   (A) When radar is used, the arresting officer has successfully
completed a radar operator course of not less than 24 hours on the
use of police traffic radar, and the course was approved and
certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

   (B) When laser or any other electronic device is used to measure
the speed of moving objects, the arresting officer has successfully
completed the training required in subparagraph (A) and an additional
training course of not less than two hours approved and certified by
the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.
   (C) (i) The prosecution proved that the arresting officer complied
with subparagraphs (A) and (B) and that an engineering and traffic
survey has been conducted in accordance with subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (2).  The prosecution proved that, prior to the officer
issuing the notice to appear, the arresting officer established that
the radar, laser, or other electronic device conformed to the
requirements of subparagraph (D).
   (ii) The prosecution proved the speed of the accused was unsafe
for the conditions present at the time of alleged violation unless
the citation was for a violation of Section 22349, 22356, or 22406.
   (D) The radar, laser, or other electronic device used to measure
the speed of the accused meets or exceeds the minimal operational
standards of the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration, and
has been calibrated within the three years prior to the date of the
alleged violation by an independent certified laser or radar repair
and testing or calibration facility.
   (2) A "speed trap" is either of the following:
   (A) A particular section of a highway measured as to distance and
with boundaries marked, designated, or otherwise determined in order
that the speed of a vehicle may be calculated by securing the time it
takes the vehicle to travel the known distance.
   (B) (i) A particular section of a highway or state highway with a
prima facie speed limit that is provided by this code or by local
ordinance under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a)
of Section 22352, or established under Section 22354, 22357, 22358,
or 22358.3, if that prima facie speed limit is not justified by an
engineering and traffic survey conducted within one of the following
time periods, prior to the date of the alleged violation, and
enforcement of the speed limit involves the use of radar or any other
electronic device that measures the speed of moving objects:
   (I) Except as specified in subclause (II), seven years.
   (II) If an engineering and traffic survey was conducted more than
seven years prior to the date of the alleged violation, and a
registered engineer evaluates the section of the highway and
determines that no significant changes in roadway or traffic
conditions have occurred, including, but not limited to, changes in
adjoining property or land use, roadway width, or traffic volume, 10
years.
   (ii) This subparagraph does not apply to a local street, road, or
school zone.



40803.  (a) No evidence as to the speed of a vehicle upon a highway
shall be admitted in any court upon the trial of any person in any
prosecution under this code upon a charge involving the speed of a
vehicle when the evidence is based upon or obtained from or by the
maintenance or use of a speedtrap.
   (b) In any prosecution under this code of a charge involving the
speed of a vehicle, where enforcement involves the use of radar or
other electronic devices which measure the speed of moving objects,
the prosecution shall establish, as part of its prima facie case,
that the evidence or testimony presented is not based upon a
speedtrap as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
40802.
   (c) When a traffic and engineering survey is required pursuant to
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 40802, evidence that a
traffic and engineering survey has been conducted within five years
of the date of the alleged violation or evidence that the offense was
committed on a local street or road as defined in paragraph (2) of
subdivision (a) of Section 40802 shall constitute a prima facie case
that the evidence or testimony is not based upon a speedtrap as
defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 40802.



40804.  (a) In any prosecution under this code upon a charge
involving the speed of a vehicle, any officer or other person shall
be incompetent as a witness if the testimony is based upon or
obtained from or by the maintenance or use of a speed trap.
   (b) Every officer arresting, or participating or assisting in the
arrest of, a person so charged while on duty for the exclusive or
main purpose of enforcing the provisions of Divisions 10 and 11 is
incompetent as a witness if at the time of such arrest he was not
wearing a distinctive uniform, or was using a motor  vehicle not
painted the distinctive color specified by the commissioner.
   This section does not apply to an officer assigned exclusively to
the duty of investigating and securing evidence in reference to any
theft of a vehicle or failure of a person to stop in the event of an
accident or violation of Section 23109 or in reference to any felony
charge or to any officer engaged in serving any warrant when the
officer is not engaged in patrolling the highways for the purpose of
enforcing the traffic laws.



40805.  Every court shall be without jurisdiction to render a
judgment of conviction against any person for a violation of this
code involving the speed of a vehicle if the court admits any
evidence or testimony secured in violation of, or which is
inadmissible under this article.



40806.  In the event a defendant charged with an offense under this
code pleads guilty, the trial court shall not at any time prior to
pronouncing sentence receive or consider any report, verbal or
written, of any police or traffic officer or witness of the offense
without fully informing the defendant of all statements in the report
or statement of witnesses, or without giving the defendant an
opportunity to make answer thereto or to produce witnesses in
rebuttal, and for such purpose the court shall grant a continuance
before pronouncing sentence if requested by the defendant.



40807.  No record of any action taken by the department against a
person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle, nor any testimony
regarding the proceedings at, or concerning, or produced at, any
hearing held in connection with such action, shall be admissible as
evidence in any court in any criminal action.
   No provision of this section shall in any way limit the
admissibility of such records or testimony as is necessary to enforce
the provisions of this code relating to operating a motor vehicle
without a valid driver's license or when the driving privilege is
suspended or revoked, the admissibility of such records or testimony
in any prosecution for failure to disclose any matter at such a
hearing when required by law to do so, or the admissibility of such
records and testimony when introduced solely for the purpose of
impeaching the credibility of a witness.


40808.  Subdivision (d) of Section 28 of Article I of the California
Constitution shall not be construed as abrogating the evidentiary
provisions of this article.






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