What are the Consequences of Texting and Driving in New Jersey?

Have you ever been in the middle of completing a task or a household chore only to find yourself distracted by your cell phone? Maybe you were just about to take your dinner out of the oven, but then your friend texted you and next thing you knew, you forgot about your dinner in the oven and had it burned and ruined. This just goes to show that texting, while seemingly innocent, can be a major distraction in our day to day lives. When it comes to making dinner it may cause us to ruin it, which while annoying, may be relatively harmless. However, imagine what could happen if you had the same text messaging conversation while behind the wheel. Losing your focus on the road and becoming distracted by your phone can cause many devastating events to occur. This is why New Jersey has been working to further improve and strengthen their laws in regards to distracted driving, especially when it comes to texting and driving. Here are 4 consequences you may face if you choose to text and drive in the state of New Jersey.

1. You may be fined. The most common consequence of texting and driving in New Jersey is receiving a fine. The fines are constantly increasing in an effort to discourage drivers from texting and driving.  At the moment, the minimum fine is set at $200 with a maximum of $400 for a first time offense. Second offenses may cost you anywhere from $400-$600. Drivers who find themselves in this situation will want to seriously consider hiring traffic lawyers.

2. You could lose your license. Texting while driving is a great way to ruin what could have otherwise been a perfect driving record. Those who are repeat offenders may receive 3 points on their license. This will cause a spike in your insurance rate and you still may have your license suspended for up to 90 days.

3. You could be sued. Sure, nobody wants to be fined or have their license suspended or revoked for texting and driving. However, these are minor consequences. The consequences could be much more severe, especially if they result in the injury of another person. If your texting and driving causes an accident, you could actually end up being sued. If an individual gets into an auto accident and believes you are at fault, they may hire an auto accident attorney in NJ. You are also allowed to hire an auto accident attorney to inform you of your rights and also provide you with legal representation in the event that you need to attend a court hearing. If you are found guilty of causing the accident then you could be fined up to $150,000 and face a maximum of 10 years in prison.

4. You could die. Not only can your texting and driving bring harm to those who share the road, but it can also cause harm to yourself as well. There’s no denying that texting while driving is a major distraction that can cause you to miss turns, run red lights, and ultimately cause an accident. There is no way of measuring ahead of time how severe these accidents could be, but one thing has been proven time and time again: texting and driving may result in death. In the past year, just in New Jersey alone, texting and driving has caused 1.4 million accidents which resulted in the unnecessary death of 1,600 people. Think before you text behind the wheel, you never know when you could end up being the 1,601st person to die from texting and driving.

Next time you plan to send a text while behind the wheel, stop and think. No matter what your message is, it can always wait until you finished driving. No text message is ever worth receiving a hefty fine, losing your license, going to prison, or killing another person of yourself over. If you end up being the victim of an auto accident due to texting and driving in NJ, contact Hyberg, White, &, Mann law firm online or give us a call at 609-407-1000.