Q. Honk, I have thoroughly read and reread the 92-page booklet that the Department of Motor Vehicles provides to study for the written exam. Nowhere can I find if it is legal to drive barefoot in California. I have seen people at the beach get into their cars without shoes or sandals and drive away. I am wondering if this is legal.
– Daniel A. Schary, Lakewood
A. The Stockton station house of the California Highway Patrol has a Facebook page that offers a weekly feature, “Weird Wednesday.” A reader’s fun question is posted and hours later answered by an officer.
“Yes, it is perfectly legal to drive a vehicle in California without wearing anything on your feet,” the officer said one Wednesday. “It is a common misconception that it is illegal to drive barefoot, but there are no laws in the state requiring drivers to wear anything on their feet.”
Honk seems to recall he was told years ago it was illegal, or had been.
“I don’t think it was ever illegal,” said Sergio Rivera, an officer and spokesman for the California Highway Patrol based at the Santa Ana station house. “Not that I am aware of.”
Q. Honk: I’ve looked and read a lot of sources regarding getting a vet license plate (partly for the free Express Lanes benefit), but haven’t found specific forms or the process. Would you help me get the info I need?
– Robert Adams, Rancho Mission Viejo
A. Honk and Robert had a nice chat the other evening, about his town and the fact he served in the U.S. Air Force from 1970 to ’74, including time in Vietnam.
The 405 Express Lanes, like many tollways in California, does offer free travel to those with Disabled Veteran, Congressional Medal of Honor, Pearl Harbor Survivor, Ex-Prisoner of War or Purple Heart license plates (Some tollways have an expanded list). To get those takes documentation to prove that the vehicle owner deserves the recognition.
These fine folks can go to dmv.ca.gov and search for “Special License Plates” and then go to “Special Recognition License Plates” to learn how to get most of those plates. After receiving them, you would register the plates with a toll agency.
“If you have a qualifying veteran plate and an account with any agency, it’s good on any toll facility in the state,” said Joel Zlotnik, a spokesman for the Orange County Transportation Authority, which oversees the 405 Express Lanes.
But …
California does not offer special license plates for veterans in general, that only they can get (it should).
There are “HONORING VETERANS” plates. However, they do not require any proof of U.S. armed forces service – anyone can get them.
Hence, no benefit on the tollway.
That type of license plate used to just say “VETERAN,” prompting some – probably many – to conclude the driver had been in the U.S. military when he or she might not have been.
To clear up the confusion, more than a decade ago, the California Department of Veterans Affairs and another veterans organization successfully asked that the plates instead say, “HONORING VETERANS” beneath the number.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
