Quick answer
Several 2026 changes can affect a crash claim. Drivers must now move over or slow down for any stopped vehicle showing hazard lights (Vehicle Code section 21809), and rideshare uninsured motorist coverage for passengers is now $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident (Public Utilities Code section 5433). The two-year deadline to file an injury lawsuit did not change.
Several California driving laws took effect on January 1, 2026, and some rules from 2023 and 2024 only became fully enforceable more recently. The ones that matter after a crash are the expanded Move Over rule (AB 390), the reduced rideshare uninsured motorist limits (SB 371), the new red light camera program (SB 720), and the daylighting parking ban citable since 2025. Each changes who is presumed at fault, how much insurance exists, or what evidence you can get.
We are B&D Law Group, APLC, and we handle injury claims in California and in Las Vegas, Nevada. Our team reads these statutes the way a defense adjuster does, as presumptions and coverage floors rather than driving tips. Under Evidence Code section 669, a driver who violates a statute and causes the harm that statute was written to prevent is presumed to have failed to use due care.
What Actually Changed, and When
| Law | Operative date | What it means for your claim |
|---|---|---|
| AB 390: Move Over expanded (Veh. Code §21809) | January 1, 2026 | Passing a stopped vehicle with hazard lights on without slowing or moving over is a violation. |
| SB 720: alternative red light cameras (Veh. Code §21455.9) | January 1, 2026 | Civil penalty only, no license point. Stored images are not hearsay. |
| AB 1085: plate-obscuring devices (Veh. Code §§5201, 5201.1) | January 1, 2026 | $250 to drive with one, $1,000 to make or sell one. Aids hit-and-run identification. |
| AB 1014: extra speed reductions (Veh. Code §§22358.7, 22358.8) | January 1, 2026 | Caltrans may now also take the extra 5 mph cut on non-freeway highways, as local authorities already could; warnings only for the first 30 days. |
| AB 382: 20 mph school zones (Veh. Code §§22352, 22352.5) | Local option January 1, 2026; statewide January 1, 2031 | Until 2031 the limit binds only where a city adopted and posted it. |
| SB 371: rideshare UM/UIM (Pub. Util. Code §5433) | January 1, 2026 | $60,000 per person / $300,000 per incident replaces the prior $1 million layer. |
| AB 413: daylighting (Veh. Code §22500(n)) | Effective January 1, 2024; citations since January 1, 2025 | No parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk approach. A sight-line argument in pedestrian cases. |
| SB 1107: minimum liability limits (Veh. Code §16056) | Policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025 | 30/60/15 replaced 15/30/5, doubling the coverage floor. |
Notice how uneven those dates are. AB 382 was signed in October 2025, yet its statewide 20 mph school zone limit does not arrive until 2031. AB 413 has been law since 2024 but only became citable in unmarked zones in 2025. A bill’s signing date, its effective date, and the date it can be enforced are three different things, and a claim turns on the last one.
The Move Over Rule Now Protects Ordinary Drivers
AB 390 (Chapter 58, Statutes of 2025) rewrote Vehicle Code section 21809 effective January 1, 2026. The old rule targeted emergency vehicles and tow trucks. It now reaches any stationary vehicle displaying flashing hazard lights, or another warning device such as cones, flares or retroreflective devices, plus marked highway maintenance vehicles showing flashing amber lights. An approaching driver must change to a non-adjacent lane when practicable and safe, and otherwise slow to a reasonable speed. The duty does not apply behind a protective barrier.
The infraction is minor, capped at a $50 fine. The civil consequence is not. Shoulder collisions are the ones insurers most often blame on the stopped driver: you should not have been there, you did not pull far enough onto the dirt. Section 21809 supplies a written duty running the other way, and it fits all four elements of Evidence Code section 669. If someone clipped your disabled car while its hazards flashed, that is where the analysis starts.
Camera Tickets Prove Less Than People Assume
Two automated systems now run side by side. SB 720 (Chapter 782, Statutes of 2025) added Vehicle Code section 21455.9 effective January 1, 2026, letting local governments run an alternative red light camera program with civil penalties of $100 to $500. It cannot produce a suspension or a violation point, and the statute provides that images stored by an automated traffic enforcement system are not out-of-court hearsay. The separate speed camera pilot in sections 22425 through 22430 covers only Los Angeles, San Jose, Oakland, Glendale, Long Beach, and San Francisco, with Malibu running its own program under section 22436 through January 1, 2032.
For an injury claim, two limits matter. The penalty falls on the registered owner rather than a proven driver, so it does not establish who was behind the wheel. Section 22425 makes the records confidential; apart from the registered owner’s right to review the photo evidence, they are generally released only as state or federal law requires, by court order, or by subpoena. And with no conviction of a driver, the negligence per se argument that works with an officer-issued citation is a weaker fit. That area is still developing, so ask a lawyer how local courts treat camera evidence.
Rideshare Passengers Have Less Uninsured Motorist Coverage This Year
This is the change with the largest dollar consequence, and almost nobody outside the claims world noticed. SB 371 (Chapter 314, Statutes of 2025) amended Public Utilities Code section 5433. Since January 1, 2026, a transportation network company must carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident from the moment a passenger enters the vehicle until the passenger exits. That coverage is the company’s sole obligation, is primary over other coverage, and replaced a $1 million requirement.
The $1 million commercial liability policy that applies while a driver is matched with or carrying a rider did not change, so if your Uber or Lyft driver caused the crash that policy still answers. The reduction bites when an uninsured or hit-and-run driver caused it while you were a passenger. Your own coverage may respond, but Insurance Code section 11580.2(d) lets a policy cap recovery at the highest single limit rather than stacking.
The Older Rules Drivers Still Have Not Absorbed
AB 413 (Chapter 652, Statutes of 2023) added subdivision (n) to Vehicle Code section 22500 effective January 1, 2024. It bars parking within 20 feet of the approach side of any marked or unmarked crosswalk, or 15 feet where a curb extension is present, and no paint or sign is required. In a pedestrian case that is a sight-line argument: when a driver insists someone stepped out from nowhere, the car parked eighteen feet from the corner is often why.
Vehicle Code section 16056 now requires 30/60/15 for policies issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2025, up from 15/30/5, with a further increase set for 2035. It applies by policy renewal date, not crash date. Phone rules did not change: section 23123.5 still bars driving while holding and operating a handheld device, except a mounted device operated by a single swipe or tap, and under section 12810.3 a point attaches only on a second conviction within 36 months.
Passed but Not in Force, and One That Never Passed
AB 382 (Chapter 555, Statutes of 2025) is the clearest example of a real law not yet operative statewide. From January 1, 2026 a local authority may declare a 20 mph prima facie limit in a school zone, defined as the area within 500 feet of school grounds unless otherwise posted, but the mandatory statewide version does not begin until January 1, 2031. It is equally worth knowing what never became law: intelligent speed assistance is often called a California requirement, yet Governor Newsom vetoed SB 961 on September 28, 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do the new 2026 California driving laws apply to a crash that happened in 2025?
No. A statute governs conduct on or after its operative date, so a 2025 collision is judged by the rules in force then. That matters most for coverage: Public Utilities Code section 5433 now sets rideshare uninsured motorist coverage at $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident, but a passenger hurt in December 2025 is measured against the older requirement.
Minimum liability limits run on policy dates rather than crash dates: the 30/60/15 floor under Vehicle Code section 16056 reached older policies only at renewal.
Does a red light camera or speed camera ticket help prove fault in an injury case?
Less than most people expect. Under Vehicle Code section 21455.9, added by SB 720 (Chapter 782, Statutes of 2025), an automated red light violation carries a civil penalty only and cannot produce a license point. Speed camera violations under section 22426 work the same way, with penalties assessed against the registered owner, not a named driver.
So the citation does not establish who was driving, and section 22425 makes speed camera records confidential, with limited exceptions such as a court order or subpoena. How much weight a camera citation carries in a California civil case is not well settled.
Can a driver be at fault for hitting my car while it was stopped with hazard lights on?
Often yes, and AB 390 (Chapter 58, Statutes of 2025) strengthened that argument as of January 1, 2026. Vehicle Code section 21809 requires an approaching driver to change to a non-adjacent lane when practicable and safe, or otherwise slow to a reasonable speed, when passing a stopped vehicle showing hazard lights.
The fine is capped at $50, but the value is evidentiary. Evidence Code section 669 presumes a failure to use due care where a person violated a statute, the violation caused the injury, the harm was the kind the statute targets, and the injured person was in the class it protects.
Does the new rideshare law mean less money is available after an Uber or Lyft crash?
For the uninsured motorist layer, yes. SB 371 (Chapter 314, Statutes of 2025) amended Public Utilities Code section 5433 so a transportation network company must carry uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage of $60,000 per person and $300,000 per incident while a passenger is in the vehicle.
The $1 million commercial liability coverage for active ride periods did not change, so if the rideshare driver caused the crash that policy still responds. The reduction matters when an uninsured third party did.
How long do I have to bring a claim under these new California driving laws?
The deadline did not change. Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1 gives you two years from the date of injury to sue for injury or death caused by the wrongful act or neglect of another. A claim against a public entity runs on a far shorter government claim deadline.
California also follows pure comparative fault under Li v. Yellow Cab Co. (1975), so being partly responsible reduces your recovery by your share of fault but does not bar it. An adjuster citing a new statute is usually arguing about percentages.
If a rule you had never heard of is being used against you, get the statute checked before accepting an adjuster’s version. We handle car accident claims, pedestrian injury claims, and Uber and Lyft claims throughout California. Reach us on our contact page to discuss what applies to your crash date and what to preserve.
This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different and past results do not guarantee a similar outcome. If you have been injured, speak with a licensed attorney about your specific situation.