Everyone knows about the dangers of distracted driving and now many states are beginning to strengthen distracted driving laws and their penalties.
New Jersey will be enforcing stricter distracted driving laws, as well as imposing stiffer punishments in an effort to cut down on the number of distracted driving accidents.
According to Land Line Magazine, 28% or 1.6 million crashes are caused by drivers using cell phones and 200,000 more crashes each year involve a texting driver.
“Any driver willing to play Russian roulette with other people’s lives should face the stiffest penalties possible,” Assemblyman Albert Coutinho stated. “Hopefully this law will send a clear signal to drivers that unless they take personal responsibility, they will be facing much harsher consequences if a tragedy occurs.”
A new bill, A1074 makes it easier for prosecutors to charge a person with vehicular homicide or assault with a vehicle if they were using a cell phone at the time of the crash.
“Proof that someone was in violation of the ban can now be used to show the person was driving recklessly. As a result, offenders could face up to 10 years in prison rather than up to 18 months under the current rule,” Land Line Magazine reported.
To read more about this and other distracted driving laws, follow this link to Land Line Magazine.