If you operate a motor vehicle in New Jersey, you are required to hold a valid driver’s license, although it does not have to be issued by New Jersey. If your license is suspended here or in another governing jurisdiction and you drive in New Jersey, you are violating the law.
If your license is suspended, or you never got one in the first place, and you’re involved in a car accident where someone else gets hurt, you are guilty of a crime of the fourth degree, as described in New Jersey statute N.J.S.A. 2C:40-22(b), Causing Injury While Driving Suspended/Unlicensed.
If a person is seriously injured in a car accident with you and you are not properly licenced, 2C:40-22(b) says you can go to prison for up to 18 months, plus the state will revoke your license for a year, or prevent you from obtaining a license for a year, after you are released.
Causing Injury While Driving Suspended/Unlicensed is a felony-level crime in New Jersey, and if you find yourself charged with it, you need experienced legal help right away.
Call Matthew Reisig today at 732-385-3339 for a free consultation with an experienced New Jersey criminal defense attorney.