I hate to admit it, but I prefer texting to phone conversations. You can say what you want to say without all the fluff monopolizing your time. Plus you can bail out on the conversation at any time. Perfection!
Now at this point, I think we all know that texting while driving is BAD!! Don’t do it friends. But three New Jersey judges have added another caveat. You might be legally liable for a crash if you’re texting a driver.
Jersey’s state Appeals Court sided with the argument made by a couple who were badly injured in a 2009 crash when an 18-year-old’s truck drifted across the center line and hit them riding on their motorcycle. They had already settled with the driver. But they’d also sued his 17-year-old girlfriend, who had texted him shortly before the crash.
The court didn’t find the girlfriend liable in this particular case because she didn’t appear to know her boyfriend was driving at the time. But the jurists accepted the idea that a texter may bear some legal responsibility if they know the other party is behind the wheel.
Right now, it’s NOT illegal, but it is possible for a law to result from it.
Now just as a FYI, Gov. Chris Christie thinks that blaming the sender might be going too far. But they’ve already beefed up penalties to the point where causing an injury while texting is treated like doing so while driving drunk.
Penalizing the non-driver is a bit of a stretch but perhaps it’s the only way for people to really take the dangers of this communication serious.
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