The Nevada Department of Transportation estimates that distracted driving activities, such as texting and talking on a cell phone while driving, causes about 3,500 traffic accidents a year in the state, representing about 20 percent the total. Despite this, Nevada’s distracted driving law is about average among the states in terms of restrictiveness and severity of punishment. Violating the distracted driving law can carry far more devastating consequences, however, if an accident results.
Restrictions on Distracted Driving Under Nevada Law
As in almost every state, texting and driving is forbidden in Nevada, with certain emergency exceptions covering:
- Drivers reporting an emergency
- On-duty emergency personnel such as ambulance drivers
- Employees of public utilities responding to emergencies
Nevada also prohibits the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. Hands-free versions such as Bluetooth are legal to use. Since Nevada law prohibits individual cities and counties from enacting their own distracted driving laws, you don’t need to worry about being pulled over by a local police officer for using your Bluetooth.
Penalties
The penalties for texting and using a cell phone while driving are the same everywhere in Nevada — $50 for a first offense, $100 for a second offense and $250 for third offense (the “lookback” period is seven years). Pervious offenses occurring in other states will count against you if Nevada finds out about them.
In the Event Distracted Driving Led to an Injury
If you cause an injury accident through texting or talking on a cell phone while driving, the injured party can use Nevada’s “negligence per se” principle to hold you automatically liable. All he needs to do is prove that you broke the distracted driving law, that your violation caused the accident, and that he suffered damages. He can prove you broke the law through a citation issued at the time of the accident, cell phone records or your own admission.
If more than one party was at fault for the accident, Nevada applies a standard known as “comparative negligence with a 51 percent bar.” If you are the one injured and you sue the other driver, for example, the other driver can use your violation of Nevada’s texting and driving law to prove that the accident was partly your fault.
If the defendant’s argument prevails, the judge will assign you a percentage of fault (25 percent or example) based on the circumstances of the accident. If your fault is less than 51 percent, your percentage of fault will be deducted proportionately from your damages. If your fault is at least 51 percent, however, you will receive nothing – you might even have to pay part of the defendant’s damages.
Possible Criminal Penalties
If you cause a fatal accident through distracted driving, you can be convicted of the criminal offense of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. The penalties are up to six months in jail, a $1,000 fine and a one year suspension of your driver’s license. If your degree of carelessness rises to the level of “criminal negligence” (extreme negligence) and you thereby cause serious injury or death, Nevada can sentence you to up to six years in prison and can impose a $5,000 fine. Being convicted of a criminal offense will not prevent you from being sued as well.
– Updated through September 1, 2016