OHV violations in the CA. Desert??

[budman]

Does anyone out there have any knowledge of OHV citations in the California desert?

In a nutshell, my friend's daughter-in-law, son and kids were in the desert (non-ohv authorized area) in an old ratty Chevy Suburban that they use for four wheeling. The cops pulled them over and cited them for no OHV sticker (even though they weren't in an OHV area) and also for no insurance. The Sheriff deputy wrote these as "non-correctable" infractions.

One CHP officer and on Sheriff's deputy told us that they were not sure if insurance was mandatory for an OHV. So my questions are:

1) Is insurance required in California for and off road only 4-wheel vehicle?

2) If not in an OHV area, is a green sticker required?

3) Are these violations correctable as they would seem to be?

4) Will this effect her otherwise perfect driving record. i.e. Will traffic school be an option?

The actual DMV cite links are here but I am not sure how to decipher them to determine the above questions or if other precedents have been made.

FIRST VIOLATION 4000(A) VC-1
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d03/vc4000.htm

SECOND VIOLATION 16028(A) VC-1
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d07/vc16028.htm


:smoking

[rritterson]

Well, some LEO is going to jump in and give a 2 sentance answer, but maybe I can help you decipher the citations first.

4000(A) deals with registration, not insurance. (c) says that the whole section doesn't apply to OHVs persuant to 38025 and 38026.5. It also says it only applies to motor vehicles on a highway or offstreet public parking facility.

So, where exactly was she driving? If it was on a highway (which doesn't mean what we commonly use it to mean), was the vehicle properly registered?

The DMV website (but not in the VC proper) says: "OHVs are vehicles such as racing motorcycles, trail bikes, mini bikes, dune buggies, all-terrain vehicles, jeeps, and snowmobiles. These vehicles are operated exclusively off public roads and highways on lands that are open and accessible to the public. They do not require regular registration, but must display an identification plate or device issued by DMV."

16028(A) is the insurance cite. It also only applies to vehicles driving on highways.

It seems to me that both of these hinge on where exactly she was when she got cited. If it was on the VC definition of "highway", they stick. If it was not on a highway, neither would seem to apply, in my limited opinion. There are probably other sections that could have applied if she was off-highway at the time, perhaps citable, but that's not what the officer cited.

I don't know about correctability.