Now, as a result of a recent decision by the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, some of those texts could be used as evidence to charge them with Reckless Driving as an Accomplice. In Kubert v. Best, the Court ruled that a sender of a text message can be held liable if they knew that the recipient was driving during the time they sent the text and he or she gets into an accident.
In the example of Kubert v. Best, the young defendant was texting while driving when he lost control of his vehicle and hit a motorcycle, resulting in lost limbs for both the motorcycle driver and passenger. The motorcyclists decided to lodge a claim against the young woman who sent the defendant the text, as they believed that she knew the defendant was driving when she sent her text. One Appellate judge on the case compared texting and driving with drinking and driving. Many states have legislation that holds a person responsible if he or she provides a visibly intoxicated person with alcohol, knowing they would shortly be driving, and that person caused a car crash, the bar could be held liable for reckless driving as an accomplice. The same principle now applies to texting.
The easiest way to prevent accidents and lawsuits such as these are to simply not text while driving. However, if you are involved in any way in a driving accident related to texting in New Jersey, you should consult a Criminal Defense attorney as soon as possible. Feel free to call my office at 718-317-5007.
- Kevin McKernan
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