Bill Text: NJ A2216 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Enhances penalties for drivers without motor vehicle insurance involved in accident with pedestrian; requires public awareness campaign concerning importance of this insurance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-01 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee [A2216 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A2216-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Enhances penalties for drivers without motor vehicle insurance involved in accident with pedestrian; requires public awareness campaign concerning importance of this insurance.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning compulsory motor vehicle insurance coverage, supplementing Title 39 of the Revised Statutes and amending P.L.1972, c.197.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. Any person who operates or causes to be operated a motor vehicle upon any public road or highway in this State without motor vehicle liability insurance coverage, as required pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1972, c.197 (C.39:6B-1), and is involved in a motor vehicle accident with a pedestrian is guilty of a:
(1) petty disorderly persons offense if the accident results in bodily injury to the pedestrian;
(2) disorderly persons offense if the accident results in serious bodily injury to the pedestrian; or
(3) crime of the fourth degree if the accident results in the death of the pedestrian; notwithstanding the provisions of subsection d. of N.J.S.2C:44-1, the person shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, without eligibility for parole, of up to 180 days.
b. The penalties imposed under this section shall be in addition to any other penalty or fine imposed under section 2 of P.L.1972, c.197 (C.39:6B-2), subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:12-1, N.J.S.2C:11-5, or any other applicable section of law.
c. For the purposes of this section:
"Bodily injury" means bodily injury as defined in subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:11-1; and
"Serious bodily injury" means serious bodily injury as defined in subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:11-1.
2. Section 2 of P.L.1972, c.197 (C.39:6B-2) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. An owner or registrant of a motor vehicle registered or principally garaged in this State who operates or causes to be operated a motor vehicle upon any public road or highway in this State without motor vehicle liability insurance coverage required by P.L.1972, c.197 (C.39:6B-1 et seq.), and an operator who operates or causes a motor vehicle to be operated and who knows or should know from the attendant circumstances that the motor vehicle is without motor vehicle liability insurance coverage required by P.L.1972, c.197 (C.39:6B-1 et seq.) shall be subject, for the first offense, to a fine of not less than $300 nor more than $1,000 and a period of community service to be determined by the court. The court also shall suspend the person's right to operate a motor vehicle over the highways of this State for a period of one year from the date of conviction; provided, however, the period of license suspension may be reduced or eliminated if the person provides the court with satisfactory proof of motor vehicle liability insurance at the time of the hearing. Upon subsequent conviction, the person shall be subject to a fine of up to $5,000 and shall be subject to imprisonment for a term of 14 days and shall be ordered by the court to perform community service for a period of 30 days, which shall be of a form and on terms as the court shall deem appropriate under the circumstances, and shall forfeit the person's right to operate a motor vehicle for a period of two years from the date of the conviction, and, after the expiration of the forfeiture, the person may make application to the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for a license to operate a motor vehicle, which application may be granted at the discretion of the chief administrator. The chief administrator's discretion shall be based upon an assessment of the likelihood that the individual will operate or cause a motor vehicle to be operated in the future without the insurance coverage required by this act. A complaint for violation of this act may be made to a municipal court at any time within six months after the date of the alleged offense.
Failure to produce at the time of trial an insurance identification card or an insurance policy which was in force for the time of operation for which the offense is charged creates a rebuttable presumption that the person was uninsured when charged with a violation of this section.
b. The chief administrator shall establish a public awareness campaign to inform the general public about the importance of maintaining motor vehicle liability insurance coverage and the penalties imposed for failure to carry this insurance under this section and section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).
(cf: P.L.2013, c.237, s.1)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill establishes enhanced penalties for drivers in this State who fail to carry required motor vehicle liability insurance who are involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to a pedestrian.
The bill specifically provides that a driver without liability insurance is guilty of a petty disorderly persons offense if the accident results in bodily injury to the pedestrian. A petty disorderly persons offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 30 days, a fine of up to $500, or both. Current law defines "bodily injury" as physical pain, illness or any impairment of physical condition.
The driver is guilty of a disorderly persons offense under the bill if the accident results in serious bodily injury to the pedestrian. A disorderly persons offense is punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both. "Serious bodily injury" is defined as bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.
An uninsured driver under the bill is guilty of a crime of the fourth degree if the accident results in the death of the pedestrian. Fourth degree crimes generally are punishable by a term of imprisonment of up to 18 months, a fine of up to $10,000 or both, but the bill provides for a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment, without eligibility for parole, of up to 180 days.
The penalties imposed under the bill would be in addition to any penalties imposed for failure to carry mandatory liability insurance, or penalties imposed for assault by auto or death by auto.
The bill also requires the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission to establish a public awareness campaign to inform the general public about the importance of maintaining motor vehicle liability insurance coverage and the penalties imposed for failure to carry this insurance.
