Jim Sanders

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Smile at the windshield -- and say cheese?

California is giving the green light to allowing video cameras to be mounted onto vehicle windshields in an attempt to improve road safety.

The goal is to make participants aware of bad habits by recording their behavior seconds before and after a crash or erratic driving maneuver.

"It seemed like a common-sense approach" to permit but not require video recorders, said Nathan Fletcher, a California assemblyman.

Parents could place video cams in cars driven by their teenagers, but the prime market is expected to be truck, bus or other transportation companies with large fleets.

Critics question whether to expand workplace recordings. Cameras already are used for everything from monitoring department store aisles to detecting red-light violations.