Maryland has not been immune to the epidemic of distracted driving accidents that has swept the nation in recent years — it suffers over 50,000 distracted driving accidents per year nearly 20,000 of which result in injury and over 150 of which result in death. Fortunately, the number of distracted driving injuries has decreased by over 1,000 per year over the past few years, an improvement that is likely to be the result of the enforcement of Maryland’s distracted driving laws.
Legal Restrictions Against Distracted Driving in Maryland
In Maryland, all drivers are prohibited from texting while driving and from using hand-held electronic devices while driving. Two classes of drivers are prohibited from the use of all electronic devices (both hand-held and hands-free) while driving: novice drivers on learner’s or intermediate licenses, and minors under 18. Other behaviors such as grooming or tuning a car radio are prohibited if they interfere with your driving.
Fines and Penalties for Distracted Driving in Maryland
The fine for a first offense of prohibited cell phone use is $83. A second offense costs $140, while a third offense costs $160 (all of these amounts include court costs). No points are assessed against the driver’s driving record unless a crash results. The penalty for a first offense of texting while driving is $70 and one point on the driver’s driving record. If a crash results, the fine increases to $110 and three points.
If You Were Involved in an Car Wreck Caused by Distracted Driving
If you are involved in a road accident while violating Maryland’s distracted driving law, your violation could be used against you in a civil lawsuit, including a lawsuit that you file yourself. In Maryland, violation of a safety statute such as the distracted driving law is “prima facie evidence” of negligence. This means that once the other party has proven that you were breaking the law, the burden of proof shifts to you to prove that you were driving carefully notwithstanding the fact that you were breaking the law.
If you file a lawsuit because you believe the other party caused the accident, and if you were texting or illegally using a cell phone at the time, Maryland is a bad state to press your claim in, because it one of the few states that applies a “pure contributory negligence” standard to auto accident liability. Maryland courts will completely deny your claim if you were even one percent at fault for the accident, and you will receive nothing.
Possible Criminal Charges for Distracted Driving in Maryland
In extreme cases, the prosecutor might pursue criminal charges against you over a distracted driving accident. To be guilty of a crime, however, you must have unjustifiably ignored a substantial risk that you should have been aware of, and your failure to see the risk or take it into account must constitute a “gross deviation” from a reasonable standard of care in the context of the circumstances of the accident. There is no more precise definition of “criminal negligence” – it all depends on the specific circumstances of the accident and the way the court sees the case.
– Updated through September 1, 2016