Why Is N.J. Protecting Dangerous Drivers?

It is well known that driving under the influence of alcohol impairs perception, judgment, motor skills and memory, all of which are critical skills needed for safe driving. Too many innocent victims are killed on our highways by drunk drivers, and society has acknowledged that the need to deter this dangerous behavior is great. Legal sanctions, including punitive damages, are central to the deterrence of impaired driving. Even though the enormity of this problem has been addressed by both the New Jersey State Legislature and our courts, New Jersey law still protects these dangerous drivers and, conversely, limits the rights of innocent victims who are injured by drunk drivers.

Historically, New Jersey courts have refrained from holding drunk drivers strictly responsible for the happening of a motor vehicle accident and the resulting damages, as the mere fact that the driver of an automobile was intoxicated is not in and of itself negligence. In Roether v. Pearson, 36 N.J. Super. 465 (1955), the plaintiff contended that since the defendant pleaded guilty to a criminal charge of drunken driving, he should have been held solely responsible for the happening of the collision. At trial, the jury returned a verdict of “no cause of action” in favor of the drunk driver, and the plaintiff filed a motion to set aside the verdict as against the weight of the evidence. The trial judge denied the motion, and the Appellate Division affirmed and recognized that the jury could conclude that the defendant’s intoxication was not a proximate cause of the accident, and therefore there was no civil responsibility.