On New Year's Day, a new set of rules of the road will go into effect, changing everything from the way Californians light the road to the punishment they receive for driving under the influence, said a California Highway Patrol spokesman.

Officer Mike Wright said that there are two important new laws for vehicle safety: one that requires a license to ride motorized scooters, and the other that requires headlights to be on whenever windshield wipers are in continuous use.

"Too many people are not turning on their headlamps in adverse weather," said Wright.

He said the new scooter-license law would affect the greatest number of people, as many children received scooters for Christmas.

"Last year it was the helmet; this year it's the license," Wright noted of the safety laws that govern scooter driving. He said children not old enough to get the standard class C license will not be allowed to ride the scooters on roads, but they can use the vehicles on their own property.

Wright praised a local lawmaker for authoring laws affecting convicted drunken drivers.

Sen. Tom Torlakson, D-Antioch, proposed a series of DUI laws after the deaths last year of two young children in Danville, allegedly killed by a driver previously convicted of DUI.

Under the new legislation, a DUI conviction would stay on a driver's record for 10 years instead of seven, said Wright, and the courts, not the Department of Motor Vehicles, would have discretion over when these convicted offenders would get their licenses back.

"Torlakson is big on DUI and we love him for it," said Wright.

Torlakson also proposed a law that extends the age and weight limits, to all children under the age of six or weighing less than 60 pounds, in rules governing where children may sit in vehicles and how they must be restrained.

Wright believes a new law that ups to $750 the fine for speeders who get caught going more than 100 mph twice in three years will not have as much effect as he would like.

"I don't think those individuals driving that fast or dangerously are going to get the message," Wright said. He said that not until the $1,000 fine, imposed for convictions within five years of the first two, would such drivers consider the financial impact of their actions.

Other laws focusing on safety include a law prohibiting school bus and other transit drivers from using cell phones while driving, a law that would require those convicted of street racing to perform community service, and one outlawing the use of devices that change traffic signals.

A new law that is awaiting federal authorization would allow single-occupancy hybrid vehicles to use carpool lanes, said Wright. He said this law, while not affecting road safety, would affect the way Californians buy cars. One third of all hybrid car sales are in California already, Wright said, and the new law would only increase demand for them.