Charges Dismissed for Client Charged with Leaving the Scene of an Accident, Failure to Report, and No Insurance on Motor Vehicle
Recently, I handled a case for a client who was facing three separate tickets including: N.J.S.A. 39:4-129 (Leaving the Scene of an Accident), N.J.S.A. 39:4-129 (Failure to Report an Accident), and N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2. Between all of the charges, my client was facing up to 180 days in jail, two (2) year loss of driving privileges, community service, 8 points on his drivers license, and $6,100 in fines. That is a pretty steep penalty for anybody to face. Thankfully, I was able to find and expose a few holes in the State’s narrative of the facts of the case and pursued this vigorously. After various attempts to plea bargain with the prosecutor (to no avail), I was forced to set the case for trial. After intensive preparation, I was able to obtain a DISMISSAL of all charges for my client on the day of trial and save my client from jail, loss of license, and what would have been thousands in fines and surcharges.
For assistance with your traffic charges, contact the New Jersey Traffic Attorneys at 1-877-450-8301. The initial consultation is free of charge and our attorneys can be reached 24/7.
Leaving the Scene of An Accident Law New Jersey N.J.S.A. 39:4-129
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-129, “Action in case of accident”, a violation for Leaving the Scene of an Accident is as follows:
(a) The driver of any vehicle, knowingly involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close thereto as possible but shall then forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene until he has fulfilled the requirements of subsection (c) of this section. Every such stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary. Any person who shall violate this subsection shall be fined not less than $2,500 nor more than $5,000, or be imprisoned for a period of 180 days, or both. The term of imprisonment required by this subsection shall be imposed only if the accident resulted in death or injury to a person other than the driver convicted of violating this section.
In addition, any person convicted under this subsection shall forfeit his right to operate a motor vehicle over the highways of this State for a period of one year from the date of his conviction for the first offense and for a subsequent offense shall thereafter permanently forfeit his right to operate a motor vehicle over the highways of this State.(b) The driver of any vehicle knowingly involved in an accident resulting only in damage to a vehicle, including his own vehicle, or other property which is attended by any person shall immediately stop his vehicle at the scene of such accident or as close thereto as possible, but shall then forthwith return to and in every event shall remain at the scene of such accident until he has fulfilled the requirements of subsection (c) of this section. Every such stop shall be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary. Any person who shall violate this subsection shall be fined not less than $200 nor more than $400, or be imprisoned for a period of not more than 30 days, or both, for the first offense, and for a subsequent offense, shall be fined not less than $400 nor more than $600, or be imprisoned for a period of not less than 30 days nor more than 90 days or both.
In addition, a person who violates this subsection shall, for a first offense, forfeit the right to operate a motor vehicle in this State for a period of six months from the date of conviction, and for a period of one year from the date of conviction for any subsequent offense.
No Insurance Ticket New Jersey N.J.S.A. 39:4-130
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2, the Penalties for failure to carry motor vehicle insurance coverage are as follows:
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.
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