New Jersey: Cell phone laws, legislation

Distracted driving update: A proposed law that would allow for charges of vehicular homicide or assault by vehicle when people are killed or injured by cell-phoning drivers has been introduced in the House and Senate. It would be Kulesh and Kubert’s Law.

A bill that would ban public transit drivers from texting and talking on cell phones has been approved in the Assembly. If it becomes law, the state would be one of the first in the nation with a complete set of distracted driving laws.

Current prohibitions:

• Drivers must use hands-free devices while talking on cell phones. ($100 fine plus costs)
• Text messaging and use of video games prohibited while driving.
• School bus operators prohibited from using cell phones while driving.
• Drivers under the age of 21 with learner’s permits or probationary licenses are prohibited from using cell phones, texting devices and other hand-held or hands-free wireless electronic devices while driving (includes iPods).

2010 legislation:
S1950: Provides for charge of vehicular homicide or assault by vehicle if a death occurs due to a driver’s cell phone use. Driving while using a cell phone would be assumed to be reckless driving. Penalties would include prison time and fines up to $150,000, similar to drunken driver punishments. Identical to A2816. (Lesniak)

A407: Prohibits train operators and bus drivers from using wireless telephones and other electronic communications devices. Includes light-rail operators. Fines up to $1,000, imprisonment for six months, or both. Approved by the Assembly on Feb. 25. (Diegnan)

S2181: Provides for graduated penalties for violators of state’s hands-free cell phone law. Fines for first-time violators remain at $100. Second offense in 10 years would bring a $250 fine. Third and subsequent offenses within 10 years of the first would be $500 plus a 60-day license suspension. (Codey) Same as A3154 (Quijano).

2010 distracted driving notes:
The bills seeking to establish the “Kulesh and Kubert’s Law” (S1950, A2816) were introduced on May 20, 2010. The law would be named after Helen Kulesh, who was killed by a woman driving and talking on a cell phone, and David and Linda Kubert, who both lost a leg after a motorist hit them while texting and driving with his elbows. Sen. Raymond Lesniak is the Senate sponsor; Reps. Annette Quijano and Albert Coutinho are the House sponsors.

A407, which restricts public transit drivers from text messaging, is a repeat of last session’s A3358. The Assembly vote of Feb. 25 was unanimous.

Sen. RIchard Codey, D-Essex, was the author of legislation that upgraded New Jersey’s handheld cell phone ban to primary enforcement. He’s back with Senate Bill 2181, which applies graduated penalties to the law (above). “This bill puts teeth in our hands-free law by creating tough penalties as a deterrent for repeat offenders,” he said as the bill was introduced on July 1, 2010.

The Division of Highway Traffic Safety says about 225,000 tickets have been issued since New Jersey’s handheld cell phone law went into effect in March 2008. About 3,600 accidents have been linked to handheld cell phone use in that two-year period.

In 2009, accidents linked to handheld cell phone use by drivers numbered 1,789. Six people died in those crashed, authorities said.

The New Jersey Graduated Driver License Law was updated May 1 in part to clarify the ban on all uses of hand-held or hands-free interactive wireless communication devices for drivers with probationary (provisional) licenses. They are prohibited from using any kind of controls on these devices, including buttons and keys.

The AAA Clubs of New Jersey report that almost all state drivers believe other motorists are distracted by cell phones — but only 52 percent admit to talking and driving themselves. 37 percent of drivers between the ages of 18 and 29 said they used text messaging devices or cell phones while behind the wheel.

2009 legislation:
A3358: Would have prohibited operators of public transit vehicles from text messaging while vehicles are moving. Includes light-rail operators. Combined with A3285, which addressed texting and railway operators. (Same as S2536.)

Legislation notes:
A3358 is sponsored by Assemblyman Patrick Diegnan Jr., D-Middlesex. It cleared in the transportation committee as a substitute on Jan. 26, 2009.

Diegnan’s ban on texting while driving public transit vehicles calls for fines of up to $1,000 and six months in jail. It is one of the many texting-related bills filed nationwide in response to the L.A. commuter crash.

Twin House and Senate bills that would have exempted truckers from the state’s ban on handheld cell phone use failed to advance in the 2009 session. Specifically, the bills would have approved use of citizen’s band radios and two-way radios. The House bill was approved, but the Senate left the legislation in committee. (AB 3084, SB 2242)

The Assembly has approved a plan for drivers with limited licenses (teenagers, usually) to place an identifying placard on their vehicles. Part of the idea is to help police enforce New Jersey’s law that prohibits motorists under the graduated driver program from talking on a cell phone, regardless of whether a hands-free device is employed. The Assembly vote came March 5 and the plan awaits the governor’s signature.

Eighteen municipalities in seven New Jersey counties undertook a two-week crackdown on drivers ignoring the state’s cell phone law for motorists. The March 2009 “Hang Up, Just Drive” program was funded by the Division of Highway Traffic Safety, which reported an drop in reports of illegal cell phone use after the sweep.

New Jersey was one of the first states to ban hand-held cell phone use and text messaging while driving. It also was a leader in prohibiting cell phone use by drivers with permits. In 2007, its existing cell phone driving law was updated to a primary offense, meaning police can stop suspected violators solely for that reason. The texting rules went into effect in March 2008.