Every driver license expires, even if yours says ‘END NONE’
Q. Hello: A senior citizen friend of ours recently showed my wife his California driver license; it has “END NONE” on it. Under what conditions would somebody have a driver license that does not expire?
–Will James, Orange
A. None.
Most of us have such a license with that two-word phrase, no matter our age, wealth, community service or prominence at the local bowling alley.
It can cause a bit of confusion, to be sure, as it is on the same line with the real expiration date, which is generally on one of our future birthdays.
To state officials – and cops – it means “endorsements, none.”
An endorsement is an extra driving privilege in addition to those automatically given to that class of driver.
Most of us have a Class C license in our purse or wallet, which allows us to drive a car, a three-wheel motorcycle so long as two of the wheels are to the front or to the rear, and an RV that is 40 feet or less in length.
Endorsements on Class C driver licenses are apparently rare. On licenses with a different class for commercial drivers, endorsements could allow carrying hazardous materials, for example.
Q. Dear Honk: Is a person riding a bicycle in a crosswalk a vehicle or a pedestrian? The reason I’m asking is recently I pulled up at a four-way stop in Orange, looked around and saw nobody was there, and was just about to pull forward when a woman on a bicycle came zooming down the sidewalk, down the handicap ramp and right across in front of me.
– Gary Stiles, Orange
A. A bicyclist, under state law, must follow the so-called “rules of the road,” said Sgt. Phil McMullin of Orange’s finest. That includes stopping at red lights and stop signs.
In such instances as the one you mentioned, Gary, if the car has the right of way, then she was in violation of failure to yielding, the good sergeant said.
Now, if she was on foot and ran out in front of you willy-nilly like that, she could be cited under a different law.
Honkin’ fact No. 1: What is believed to be the bus that Rosa Parks in 1955 refused to give her seat up to a white man on – an action that helped fuel the civil rights movement – sits in The Henry Ford, a museum in Michigan. The museum out bid others, including the Smithsonian Institute, in 2001 by paying more than $425,000 for the Montgomery, Alabama bus. Another couple of hundred thousand was raised to restore it, with the federal government helping out. (Source: The Henry Ford).
Honkin’ fact No. 2: As of two weeks ago, 6,767,413 Californians had received a Real ID, with nearly 460,000 getting one in the month prior. The DMV is pushing for people to get them well ahead of Oct. 1, when federal officials will require all adults boarding a domestic flight or entering a secured federal facility to flash a Real ID, a U.S. a passport, a passport card or some other accepted identification.
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.