Despite relentless public awareness campaigns, severe state penalties, and countless tragic headlines, New Jersey’s roadways remain plagued by an epidemic of distracted driving. We share the Garden State Parkway, the Turnpike, and our local neighborhood streets with drivers whose eyes are glued to glowing screens instead of the road ahead of them.
The physics of distracted driving are terrifying. A vehicle traveling at 65 miles per hour covers nearly 100 feet per second. A driver who looks down at a text message or a social media notification for just five seconds will drive the entire length of a football field completely blind. In those five seconds, they can drift into oncoming traffic, blow through a red light at a busy intersection, or plow into a slowing vehicle, causing a catastrophic, life-altering collision.
If you or a loved one has been injured by a distracted driver, you are likely feeling a profound sense of anger and injustice. Your life has been upended—you are facing agonizing pain, emergency surgeries, and massive medical debt—all because someone decided that a text message was more important than your safety. At Pinnacle Injury Law, we channel that anger into aggressive, relentless legal action. We are premier New Jersey trial attorneys dedicated to exposing distracted drivers, piercing their lies, and holding them fully financially accountable for the devastation they cause.
The Law: N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3 and Negligence Per Se
New Jersey has some of the strictest distracted driving laws in the United States. Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3, the use of a handheld wireless telephone or electronic communication device while driving is strictly prohibited. This includes holding a phone to talk, reading a text message, writing an email, or scrolling through a social media feed.
When a driver violates this clear statutory rule and causes an accident, they have committed an act that the law often recognizes as evidence of negligence. While a traffic ticket for cell phone use is a matter for municipal court, Pinnacle Injury Law utilizes that violation in civil court. We argue that the driver's blatant disregard for New Jersey traffic law proves they breached their fundamental duty of care to you and the public, making them entirely liable for the damages that follow.
