StudiGuide 28: California Traffic Enforcement

Study Guide for the California Police Academy (P.O.S.T.) Written Examination

This StudiGuide course provides a practice review-testing resource for police academy cadets (based on the state of California’s Commission on Peace Officer Standard and Training 'POST' requirements) to help understand and pass the POST written examinations.

DIFFERENTIATE between mandatory and optional appearances before a magistrate

RECOGNIZE the elements and common names for:

• violations involving failure to obey the lawful orders of a peace officer or designated employee

• traffic control signal and device violations involving red signal lights, stop signs, other traffic control signals and devices

• right-of-way violations involving failure to yield the right-of-way and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle

• rights and provisions involving bicyclists

• violations involving pedestrians

• violations involving turning and signaling

• speed violations involving basic speed laws and maximum speed

• driving and passing violations involving following too closely, unsafe lane change, passing on the right/left and passing a stopped school bus

• public offense violations involving reckless driving, speed contests, hand-held wireless telephone and electronic wireless communications device

• hit and run violations

• basic motor vehicle licensing requirements

• violations when driving with a suspended or revoked license

• basic motor vehicle registration requirements

• basic vehicle equipment requirements for motor vehicles driven upon highways

• violations involving the possession of alcoholic beverages in a motor vehicle

• violations involving Driving Under the Influence (DUI)

RECOGNIZE a peace officer’s legal authority to remove vehicles

RECOGNIZE driving that might indicate a driver of a vehicle may be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs

RECOGNIZE the indications of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs a peace officer may observe upon making contact with a driver

RECOGNIZE appropriate peace officer actions if a subject refuses to cooperate in performing a Field Sobriety Test (FST)

DISCUSS:

• the elements and Vehicle Code section(s) governing arrest

• medical conditions that may cause a person to appear under the influence

• the primary elements included in the statutory admonition read to drivers who refuse to submit to a chemical sobriety test

DEMONSTRATE:

• effective use of hand signals, flashlights and other warning devices to control traffic

• FSTs that may be used to determine impairment, to include Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN), One-Leg Stand (OLS) and Walk & Turn (WAT)

EXPLAIN:

• the relevance of traffic enforcement to public safety and quality of life within a community

• the relevance of traffic enforcement to legally establish probable cause for accomplishing general law enforcement objectives

• the organization of information within the Vehicle Code

• the meaning of the phrase “under the influence”