California · Penal Code

PEN §243.3: If a battery is committed against the person of an operator, driver, or passenger on a bus, taxicab, streetcar, cable car, trackless trolley, or other motor vehicle, including a vehicle operated on st

Misdemeanor

What this law says, in plain English

Battery committed against operators, drivers, passengers, or employees of public transportation vehicles is punishable by up to one year in county jail and/or a $10,000 fine; if injury results, imprisonment may extend to state prison for 16 months to three years.

Read the full statutory text

If a battery is committed against the person of an operator, driver, or passenger on a bus, taxicab, streetcar, cable car, trackless trolley, or other motor vehicle, including a vehicle operated on stationary rails or on a track or rail suspended in the air, used for the transportation of persons for hire, or against a schoolbus driver, or against the person of a station agent or ticket agent for the entity providing the transportation, or against a public transportation provider, or against an employee or contractor of a public transportation provider, and the person who commits the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim, in the case of an operator, driver, or agent, employee, or contractor, is engaged in the performance of their duties, or is a passenger the offense shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If an injury is inflicted on that victim, the offense shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

Verify at the official source: California legislative text

Facing this? Know exactly what happens next.

MOFRD turns this code section into your situation: the deadlines that apply to you, the forms your county uses, and the resolution paths people in your position actually take. Free for 3 days — no card required.

Start your matter free Ask Law Link about this code

This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.