California Vehicle Code 23510 – The Legislature finds and declares all of the …
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Young drivers often do not realize the consequences of drinking alcohol or ingesting any other drugs, whether legal or not, and driving a motor vehicle while their physical capabilities to drive safely are impaired by those substances.
Terms Used In California Vehicle Code 23510
- Alcoholic beverage: includes any liquid or solid material intended to be ingested by a person which contains ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, drinking alcohol, or alcohol, including, but not limited to, alcoholic beverages as defined in §. See California Vehicle Code 109
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
- driver: is a person who drives or is in actual physical control of a vehicle. See California Vehicle Code 305
- drug: means any substance or combination of substances, other than alcohol, which could so affect the nervous system, brain, or muscles of a person as to impair, to an appreciable degree, his ability to drive a vehicle in the manner that an ordinarily prudent and cautious man, in full possession of his faculties, using reasonable care, would drive a similar vehicle under like conditions. See California Vehicle Code 312
- motor vehicle: includes a recreational vehicle as that term is defined in subdivision (a) of §. See California Vehicle Code 415
- Person: includes a natural person, firm, copartnership, association, limited liability company, or corporation. See California Vehicle Code 470
(b) Young drivers who use alcohol or other drugs are likely to become dependent on those substances and prompt intervention is needed to protect other persons, as well as the young driver, from death or serious injury.
(c) The conviction of a young driver for driving under the influence of an alcoholic beverage, a drug, or both, identifies that person as a risk to the health and safety of others, as well as that young driver, because of the young driver’s inability to control his or her conduct.
(d) It has been demonstrated that close observation of the effects on others of alcohol and other drugs, both chronic and acute, by a young driver convicted of driving under the influence has a marked effect on recidivism and should therefore be encouraged by the courts, prehospital emergency medical care personnel, and other officials charged with cleaning up the carnage and wreckage caused by drunk drivers.
(e) The program prescribed in this article provides guidelines for the operation of an intensive program to discourage recidivism by convicted young drunk drivers.
(Added by Stats. 1998, Ch. 118, Sec. 84. Effective January 1, 1999. Section operative July 1, 1999, pursuant to Section 23675.)