Q. Honk: My impression is texting on a cellphone while stopped at a traffic signal is still against the law. Correct?
– Mike Matthiessen, Pasadena
A. You might think otherwise when cruising around your fine town, because plenty of motorists everywhere are playing with their cellphones, but that is indeed a no-no.
“You do see a lot of violations,” said Rodrigo Jimenez, an officer and spokesman for the California Highway Patrol assigned to the Baldwin Park station house. “You are only permitted one tap or one swipe to activate or deactivate the cellphone.”
That state law, of course, applies to any time a driver is driving.
“I am an enforcer of it,” Jimenez went on to say. “When you come to a red light and you’re looking down at your phone, you’re not paying attention to your surroundings.”
He told Honk about the time he pulled up to a stoplight next to a woman with her eyes glued to her cellphone.
Jimenez was headed somewhere, so he waved and then whistled to try and get her attention – he just wanted her to pay attention to traffic.
A couple of chuckling men on the other side of her vehicle tried to get her attention as well – an officer wants to communicate with you!
Instead, when she saw with her peripheral vision that traffic was going forward she started going straight ahead without even looking up.
Jimenez figured his destination could wait – he pulled her over, and out came the citation book.
Q. Hi Honk: How do I apply for a new rear license plate as mine looks awful with the paint peeling off. It’s a mess. How much is the charge for the replacement, and do I have to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles, or does the Auto Club do this as well?
– Mary-Ellen O’Neill, Irvine
A. What, you don’t want to hang out in a DMV office?
Well, you are in luck.
“The process can be done by mail, at a DMV field office or (at the Auto Club),” Marty Greenstein, a DMV spokesman, told Honk. “Old plates should be returned to be recorded and recycled.”
The cost to replace standard plates – in which you just take the alpha-numeric sequence the DMV hands out – is $22. The fees vary for replacing specialized license plates.
You will need to fill out a REG 156 application, which you can find at dmv.ca.gov by putting “replacement license plates” in the search bar. The mailing address is on the form.
Honkin’ fact: Traffic on the 15 Freeway backed up 21 miles at one point Sunday as gamblers and others left Las Vegas and their long Thanksgiving weekend behind, according to the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. The bumper-to-bumper congestion was around the Nevada-California border.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk.
