Driver education and safety are one of the main priorities and responsibilities of the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This includes making sure licensed drivers stay safe on the road by providing guidance in the California Driver’s Handbook along with issuing, suspending, or revoking driving privileges as needed. *
Data source: California Department of Motor Vehicles. (2022). DS 1236: Annual Suspension & Revocation Report. Sacramento: California DMV.
In 2022, the California DMV issued 648,479 suspensions and 19,744 revocations.
License suspension and revocation in California can occur for a multitude of reasons including, driving under the influence (DUI), physical and mental conditions, lack of skill, negligent operators, serious offenders, failure to appear for a court hearing related to driving and non-driving offenses, financial responsibility, proof of failure and non-driving related offenses such as failing to pay child support. Driver education is a key component in mitigating these risk factors and is also often an essential part of a driver getting their license reinstated.
The California Driver’s Handbook helps all road users become familiar with the rules of the road. The handbook states that when a driver is stopped during an enforcement stop, they must provide a driver’s license, proof of insurance, and vehicle registration. Furthermore, during a traffic stop, an officer may ask the driver for permission or demand to search part or all of the vehicle but the driver has the right to decline in certain circumstances. The Driver’s Handbook reminds drivers not to resist or engage in physical violence with law enforcement. Instead, the handbook provides information on the right to file a complaint with the officer’s employer and other rights guaranteed to members of the public.
Assembly Bill 953 , also known as the Racial and Identity Profiling Act (RIPA) of 2015, mandated that all state and local law enforcement collect and report the perceived racial identity of individuals involved in pedestrian and traffic stops. The 19-member RIPA Board works with local and state law enforcement to produce an annual report with policy recommendations to improve diversity and racial identity sensitivity in law enforcement. Assembly Bill 2773 of 2022 required law enforcement officers disclose and document the reason they made a traffic stop. However, this requirement does not apply when the officer believes revealing the reason for the traffic stop will risk life or property from a foreseeable threat.
Traffic stops are one of the most common interactions that members of the public have with law enforcement. Officers must be equipped with the critical knowledge, skills, and ability to perform effectively. The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) [1] sets and updates the minimum Training and Testing Specifications twice a year or as needed, as well as has the authority to certify, suspend, and decertify peace officers in California.
Data source: State of California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. (2024, January 29). Regular Basic Course Training Specifications. Accessed April 2024. https://post.ca.gov/regular-basic-course-training-specifications
As of October 2023, POST requires all new law enforcement officers to complete at least 28 instruction hours exclusively focused on traffic enforcement and traffic collision investigations; while this is only 4.8 percent of their training, other learning domains may also address traffic safety.
To effectively enforce impaired driving, additional specialized training is needed. As of March 2024, only two academies in the state teach Standardized Field Sobriety Test (SFST), a method for detecting driver impairment, in basic training. Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) and Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training are more advanced curricula that support enhanced detection and prosecution of drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or drug combinations.
Data Source: 2024 California Impaired Driving Plan, p43
The figures in this section refer to individuals (including bicyclists and pedestrians) stopped by law enforcement due to a traffic violation in California in 2022. These do not include traffic stops that were conducted for purposes such as reasonable suspicion, parole/probation arrest warrant, investigation for truancy consensual encounter. In total, there were 3,756,105 traffic stops due to a traffic violation in California in 2022.
| Ranking | Counties | Traffic Stops |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | 620940 |
| 2 | Orange | 148252 |
| 3 | San Bernardino | 126993 |
| 4 | San Diego | 122360 |
| 5 | Riverside | 106216 |
Data source: 2022 RIPA Dataset
Data Sources: Adapted from 2022 RIPA Dataset & RIPA - Stop Data Collection System 6/29/2023
CVC 22450 (A) Violations (Fail Stop: xwalk /etc) were the most common type of violation accounting for 10.7 percent. This was followed by CVC 22349 (Excessive Speed) and CVC 4000 (A) (1) (No Registration: Veh/Trailer/etc) which accounted for 8.0 and 7.2 percent respectively. The forth and fifth most common types of violations were CVC 22349 (A) (Exceed Speed on Highway) and CVC 22350 (Unsafe Speed) accounting for 6.4 and 6.1 percent.
For more information, please see the the Criminal Justice Infomation Services (CJIS).
| Ranking | County | Traffic Stops per 100k Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alpine | 28936.2 |
| 2 | Sierra | 26553.7 |
| 3 | Amador | 16127.7 |
| 4 | Colusa | 14669.5 |
| 5 | Kings | 12168.8 |
Data source: 2022 RIPA Dataset
Data sources: i) 2022 RIPA Dataset ; ii) RIPA - Stop Data Collection System 6/29/2023