Severe penalties can be levied against people who drive without insurance in the state of New Jersey. Driving without insurance in New Jersey is so serious that penalties are harsher than penalties for first time drunk driving offenses.
New Jersey's Statute 39:6B-2 requires that the owner of the motor vehicle is responsible for maintaining insurance on the vehicle for a minimum of $15,000 in coverage for injury or death of a person, $30,000 for more than one person and $5,000 for property damage.
Mandatory penalties under Statute 39:6B-2 include a fine ranging from a minimum $300 to a maximum $1,000, loss of driver's license for a year and community service. The municipal court with jurisdiction determines the length and type of community service. Additionally court costs and a yearly $250 surcharge payable to the Department of Motor Vehicles are assessed. The surcharge is dropped after three years.
If a second offense of driving without insurance occurs, mandatory penalties include 14 days in jail, a fine of between $500 and $5,000, 180 hours of community service, court costs, suspension of license for at least two years and a $250 DMV surcharge for three years. As with the first offense, the court chooses the type of community service the offender will perform.
Second offenders are also assessed nine insurance eligibility points thereby making it extremely expensive to obtain insurance if the license is reinstated.
After the second offense, the driver must submit an application to the DMV to have his or her license reinstated. The director will make an assessment of the application to determine if the applicant is likely to drive or allow someone else to drive his or her vehicle without insurance in the future. Under Statute 39:6B-2, the director of the DMV has the right to refuse reinstatement of the license permanently.
In some instances, if a non-owner is the driver of the motor vehicle, he or she has a defense if the vehicle is uninsured. When this occurs, the state has to prove that, based on the relationship between the owner and driver, the driver should have known or knew the vehicle was not insured.
The $750 in surcharges collected by the DMV as a result of each offense is placed into The Uninsured Motorist Prevention Fund as ordered by Statute 39:6B-3. The fund, and all interest collected, is used for administrative expenses and enforcement of the uninsured motorist law.
