In June of 2013, a New Jersey state senator introduced a bill that would authorize law enforcement officers to temporarily seize and search a motorist's cell phone after an accident to determine if the motorist was distracted while driving. Currently, the U.S. DOT prohibits operators of commercial motor vehicles from using hand-held communication devices and from texting while operating such vehicles. Most states also have prohibitions in place banning or limiting any motorist's ability to use a hand-held cell phone for voice See more +

In June of 2013, a New Jersey state senator introduced a bill that would authorize law enforcement officers to temporarily seize and search a motorist's cell phone after an accident to determine if the motorist was distracted while driving. Currently, the U.S. DOT prohibits operators of commercial motor vehicles from using hand-held communication devices and from texting while operating such vehicles. Most states also have prohibitions in place banning or limiting any motorist's ability to use a hand-held cell phone for voice communication and/or texting. The difficulty for law enforcement is in proving violations. Accordingly, New Jersey's bill represents the next step in a series of aggressive measures on the federal and state levels to combat distracted driving.

While we do not expect that New Jersey will pass the bill into law in its current form, the bill signifies that the issue of distracted driving will remain a hot topic in the transportation industry for the foreseeable future.

In this video, McNees Wallace & Nurick Transportation attorney, Jim Franklin explains the New Jersey bill, how it differs from current Pennsylvania statutes, and what it signifies for the transportation industry at large. See less -