Distracted driving laws are designed to prevent accidents by keeping a driver’s hands on the wheel, his eyes on the road and his mind on driving, without being distracted by irrelevant stimuli such as text messages. Despite its relatively safe roads (Alaska is among the nation’s five safest states to drive in) and maybe in an effort to keep them that way, Alaska’s distracted driving laws are by far the most draconian in the nation.
Distracted Driving Restrictions
Alaska applies a blanket ban against texting while driving – you may not compose, send or read test messages while driving. At this point, there are no other specific restrictions. This doesn’t mean that you can’t be cited for distracted driving in Alaska unless you are caught texting and driving. Other distracting activities, such as shaving in the rear view mirror while driving, for example can justify a citation if they are unreasonably distracting under the circumstances.
Texting while driving is a primary offense in Alaska, meaning that a police officer can pull you over specifically for this offense – you do not have to be suspected of some other violation, as in the case of a secondary offense.
Penalties
In Alaska, you can be fined up to $10,000 for distracted driving, and you can be imprisoned for up to a year. Of course, most people convicted of distracted driving in Alaska do not suffer such extreme penalties – typically, aggravated factors, such as multiple convictions, must be present in order for harsh penalties to be imposed.
In the Event of an Accident
In the event of an accident, distracted driving is considered negligence per se. This means that once you prove a driver violated the law, he is considered to have acted negligently unless:
- He lacked the ability to comply with the law;
- He had no way of knowing that the law applied to him;
- He exercised reasonable care yet still was unable to comply with the law; or
- He was responding to an emergency that was not caused by his own misconduct.
If no exception applies, a defendant who violated the distracted driving law is considered automatically negligent. If this negligence caused the accident, he will be held liable for all damages (personal injury, wrongful death and/or property damage) that he caused another person. If a plaintiff is found negligent, he will lose the case unless he can prove that the defendant was also negligent. If both parties are found negligent, the court will determine the plaintiff’s percentage of fault for the accident and reduce his damages in exact proportion to his percentage of fault. Negligence can also render the plaintiff vulnerable to a counterclaim by the defendant.
Criminal Penalties
If you are involved in an injury accident, distracted driving could result in criminal charges against you, if your conduct is considered to have been outrageous enough to greatly exceed the minimum threshold for ordinary civil negligence. Simply texting while driving will not be enough to support a criminal conviction. Some aggravating factor must be involved — texting while driving on an icy road at night during a snowstorm might be enough, for example.
– Updated through September 1, 2016