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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 1195
AN ACT ESTABLISHING SECONDARY TRAFFIC VIOLATIONS.
SUMMARY
This bill designates certain equipment-related and administrative
motor vehicle violations as secondary violations, prohibiting law
enforcement officers from stopping a motor vehicle only to enforce one
of these violations. The violations deemed secondary are generally
designated as infractions (see BACKGROUND) and include, among
others, (1) window tint violations, (2) failure to have two working
headlights, (3) failing to illuminate the rear license plate, (4) failure to
renew a registration or driver’s license, and (5) failure to carry a driver’s
license when driving.
The bill specifies that it does not prohibit enforcement of secondary
violations (1) in the case of a vehicle stopped for a violation that is not a
secondary violation (i.e., a primary violation), (2) by automated
enforcement, and (3) by mailing a violation notice.
Existing law already makes some violations secondary violations
(although it does not use that term), including (1) the failure of a
backseat passenger age 16 or older to wear a seat belt (CGS § 14-
100a(c)(4)) and (2) smoking, inhaling, or ingesting cannabis while
driving or as a passenger (CGS §§ 53a-213a & -213b).
The bill also modifies the violation for obscuring license plates, which
is a primary violation. Current law requires that license plates be
entirely unobscured and prohibits placing anything on a vehicle or
license plates that obscures any information on the plate. The bill instead
requires that plates be substantially unobscured and prohibits placing
anything that obscures the plate’s numbers and letters.
Lastly, the bill makes technical and conforming changes. 2023SB-01195-R000568-BA.DOCX
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EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2023
§§ 4-9, 10 & 17-19 — EQUIPMENT VIOLATIONS
Tinted Window Violations (§ 4)
Existing law generally prohibits (1) driving a vehicle with objects or
materials placed, installed, or applied on the vehicle in a way that
obstructs the driver’s clear and full view of the road out of the
windshield and side and rear windows and (2) putting transparent
material on these windows if it alters the color or reduces the light
transmittance. But it makes many exceptions to these prohibitions,
including allowing tinting of side windows that complies with the law’s
standards on light transmission and luminous reflectance. It also
prohibits anyone from selling, offering, or delivering in the state a
vehicle with windows that do not comply with these standards.
By law, any motor vehicle with a window that was tinted after factory
delivery must have a Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV)-issued
sticker indicating that material used complies with the law’s standards.
Manufacturers must apply to DMV for approval before shipping
material to the state and deliver the approved stickers with the material.
The sticker’s presence on a motor vehicle indicates that the window
complies with the law, and vehicles with tinted windows operating
without a compliance sticker are in violation of the law.
Violations of these provisions are infractions under existing law. The
bill additionally makes them secondary violations.
Display of License Plates (§§ 5 & 16)
By law, vehicles issued two license plates must display them in a
visible place on the vehicle’s front and rear. The bill makes displaying a
license plate against a vehicle’s rear window a secondary violation, as
long as the numbers and letters are plainly legible.
Lights (§§ 6-9)
The bill makes the following light-related infractions secondary
violations: 2023SB-01195-R000568-BA.DOCX
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1. failure to illuminate the rear license plate with a white light that
makes it clearly legible from 50 feet away,
2. having only one red reflector on the vehicle's rear when two are
required (but having no reflectors remains a primary violation),
and
3. having only one working headlight otherwise in compliance
with the law when two are required (but having no working
headlights remains a primary violation).
The bill also requires violations of laws on the number, placement,
and intensity of lights or other technical specifications included in the
motor vehicle equipment laws that would also constitute a violation of
the statute on use of lights while driving (CGS § 14-96a) to be enforced
under the equipment statutes and not under CGS 14-96a.
Obstructed Windshield (§ 10)
Existing law prohibits attaching, placing, or hanging a device, sticker,
or ornament on or in a vehicle in a way or location so that it obstructs
the driver’s view of the highway or distracts the driver. The bill makes
violations of this prohibition a secondary violation, as long as the
obstruction is not substantial.
Horn (§ 17)
Under existing law, when operating on a public road, every motor
vehicle must have a horn in good working order that can make a sound
that can be heard under normal conditions from at least 200 feet away.
The law prohibits the horn or other warning devices from making an
unreasonably loud or harsh sound or a whistle. The bill makes
violations of these provisions secondary violations.
Mirrors (§§ 18 & 19)
Existing law requires motor vehicles and other vehicles (e.g., bicycle
and motor scooters) to have a mirror attached, located, and adjusted in
a way that gives the operator a clear view of the highway directly to the
vehicle’s rear or on a line parallel to the vehicle’s body. It also requires
vehicles that are not motor vehicles to watch for vehicles approaching 2023SB-01195-R000568-BA.DOCX
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to their rear and drive to the right as promptly as safety permits, in order
to allow the oncoming vehicle to pass safely.
The bill makes these infractions secondary violations.
§§ 11-15 — ADMINISTRATIVE VIOLATIONS
Failure to Renew Registration (§ 11)
Existing law generally requires a person to register a vehicle with
DMV before it may be driven, towed, or parked on any public road.
Violations are generally infractions, but the commissioner is authorized
to suspend a person’s driver’s license for failing to renew a registration
(CGS § 14-12g(c)).
Current law has a grace period of 30 days after a previously
registered vehicle’s registration expires during which a violation is
considered “failure to renew” and subject only to an infraction penalty
and not license suspension. The bill extends this grace period from 30 to
60 days after the expiration date and makes failure to renew a secondary
violation.
Failure to Renew Driver’s License (§§ 12 & 15)
Existing law similarly has a grace period of 60 days after a driver’s
license expires during which previously licensed drivers are fined for
failure to renew a driver’s license rather than driving without a license
(CGS § 14-36). It also makes driving without getting reinstated within
the first 60 days after a person’s license suspension expires subject to the
penalty for failure to renew.
The bill makes these violations secondary violations.
Failure to Carry Driver’s License (§ 14)
By law, a person must carry their driver’s license with them when
they drive. Driving without it is an infraction. The bill also makes failing
to do so a secondary violation.
Failure to Change Address (§ 13)
The law requires driver’s license and identity card holders to update
DMV within 48 hours of any change of address. The bill makes failing 2023SB-01195-R000568-BA.DOCX
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to do so a secondary violation.
BACKGROUND
Infractions
Infractions are punishable by fines, usually set by Superior Court
judges, of between $35 and $90, plus a $20 or $35 surcharge and an
additional fee based on the fine’s amount. There may also be other
applicable charges depending on the type of infraction. For example,
certain motor vehicle infractions trigger a Special Transportation Fund
surcharge of 50% of the fine. An infraction is not a crime and violators
can generally pay the fine by mail without making a court appearance.
COMMITTEE ACTION
Judiciary Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 24 Nay 13 (03/27/2023)