Section 16028. Proof of financial responsibility to be provided upon demand of
peace officer or traffic collision investigator; notice to appear for violation
of code; employer vehicle; method of appearance
(a) Upon the demand of a peace officer pursuant to subdivision
(b) or upon the demand of a peace officer or traffic collision investigator pursuant
to subdivision (c), every person who drives a motor vehicle upon a highway shall
provide evidence of financial responsibility for the vehicle that is in effect at the
time the demand is made. However, a peace officer shall not stop a vehicle for the
sole purpose of determining whether the vehicle is being driven in violation of this
subdivision.
(b) Whenever a notice to appear is issued for any alleged violation
of this code, except a violation specified in Chapter 9 (commencing with Section
22500) of Division 11 or any local ordinance adopted pursuant thereto, the cited driver
shall furnish written evidence of financial responsibility upon request of the
peace officer issuing the citation. The peace officer shall request and write the
driver's evidence of financial responsibility on the notice to appear, except when the
peace officer is unable to write the driver's evidence of financial responsibility on
the notice to appear due to an emergency that requires his or her presence elsewhere.
If the cited driver fails to provide evidence of financial responsibility at the time the
notice to appear is issued, the peace officer may issue the driver a
notice to appear for violation of subdivision (a). The notice to appear for violation of
subdivision (a) shall be written on the same citation form as the original violation.
(c) Whenever a peace officer, or a regularly employed and salaried
employee of a city or county who has been trained as a traffic collision investigator, is
summoned to the scene of an accident described in Section 16000, the driver of any motor
vehicle that is in any manner involved in the accident shall furnish written evidence of
financial responsibility upon the request of the peace officer or traffic collision
investigator. If the driver fails to provide evidence of financial responsibility when
requested, the peace officer may issue the driver a notice to appear for violation of this
subdivision. A traffic collision investigator may cause a notice to appear to be issued for
a violation of this subdivision, upon review of that citation by a peace officer.
(d) (1) If, at the time a notice to appear for a violation of subdivision
(a) is issued, the person is driving a motor vehicle owned or leased by the driver's
employer, and the vehicle is being driven with the permission of the employer, this section
shall apply to the employer rather than the driver. In that case, a notice to appear shall
be issued to the employer rather than the driver, and the driver may sign the notice on
behalf of the employer.
(2) The driver shall notify the employer of the receipt of the notice
issued pursuant to paragraph (1) not later than five days after receipt.
(e) A person issued a notice to appear for a violation of subdivision (a)
may personally appear before the clerk of the court, as designated in the notice to appear,
and provide written evidence of financial responsibility in a form consistent with Section
16020, showing that the driver was in compliance with that section at the time the notice to
appear for violating subdivision (a) was issued. In lieu of the personal appearance, the
person may submit by mail to the court written evidence of having had financial
responsibility at the time the notice to appear was issued. Upon receipt by the clerk of
that written evidence of financial responsibility in a form consistent with Section 16020,
further proceedings on the notice to appear for the violation of subdivision (a) shall be
dismissed.
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