Can a defendant who drives a car with defective brakes be held liable for an unlawful act under former section 501 of the California Vehicle Code?

However, in People v. Campbell (1958) 162 Cal.App.2d 776, 329 P.2d 82, the court reviewed a conviction under former section 501 and concluded that operating a car with defective brakes supported the conviction either as a violation of the Vehicle Code or as proof of negligence. In People v. Graybehl (1944) 67 Cal.App.2d 210, 153 P.2d 771, the court held that in a section 501 prosecution the unlawful act requirement was satisfied by evidence that the defendant drove his car with its windshield so dirty " ' ... as to impair the driver's vision,' " which is a violation of the Vehicle Code ( 677). (Id., at pp. 216-218, 153 P.2d 771.) In each of these cases, the equipment violation in question directly impaired the driver's ability to drive the car in a manner so as to avoid an accident and proximately caused the injuries to a person other than the driver.