Driving Without Insurance in New Jersey
In New Jersey, Driving Without Insurance is one of the most serious motor vehicle offenses and carries with it extremely harsh penalties. The New Jersey Compulsory Motor Vehicle Insurance Law is found at N.J.S.A. 39:6B-1. This Law requires every owner or of a vehicle registered or principally garaged in the state to carry motor vehicle liability insurance coverage.
N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2 provides that any owner or registrant of a motor vehicle required to carry insurance under 39:6B-1 who operates or causes to be operated a motor vehicle upon any public road or highway in the State without such insurance is in violation of the statute. It also provides that any driver who operates a motor vehicle who knows or should know from the circumstances that it is uninsured is in violation. Failure to produce a valid insurance card at the time of trial gives rise to a rebuttable presumption that the person was uninsured at the time he or she was charged with the violation.
A first time violation of NJSA 39:6B-2 (driving without liability insurance)includes a fine of at least $300 and up to $1,000.00, community service, DMV surcharges of $250 for 3 years, and a mandatory license suspension of one year. There are also court costs and fees that are required to be paid as well as the penalties listed above.
A second offense carries with it a fine of up to $5000.00, a mandatory jail sentence of 14 days, 30 days community service, and a license suspension for 2 years. The license is not automatically returned after that date and the violator must make application to the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles for reinstatement.
The Law Firm of Randolph H. Wolf utilizes many defenses to attempt to prevent its clients from being convicted under this statute. In the past we have successfully defended persons with the following arguments:
The car was not registered in New Jersey or was not principally garaged in the State. The car was actually registered in another state. The insurance policy was canceled and the insurance company did not follow the requirements of the New Jersey Administrative Code, N.J.A.C. 11:3-8.1 et seq. The driver did not know that the car was uninsured and had no reason to know it. The driver was not the owner of the car and was in fact covered under another insurance policy for liability coverage.
There were mix-ups in the coverages on the automobile resulting in lapse of coverage and the owner immediately fixed the problem and got insurance once he or she became aware of it (This is probably not a valid legal defense, but, on occasion courts and prosecutors are sympathetic to a genuine mistake). Of course, just because a defense has worked in the past, is no guarantee that it will be successful in any future case.
Please contact our office for a free consultation to see whether we can help you keep your license and stay out of jail when facing a No Insurance charge.
