Distracted driving activities, such as texting or using a cell phone, are implicated in about a quarter of Minnesota road accidents, comparable to the percentage of accidents in which alcohol plays a role. All told, distracted driving activities are responsible for dozens of deaths and hundreds of serious injuries on Minnesota roads every year. Minnesota has responded by passing a distracted driving law that focuses on the use of electronic devices.
Distracted Driving Restrictions in Minnesota
Texting while driving is forbidden for all drivers – including emailing as well as sending instant and text messages – with certain emergency and official exceptions. Minnesota also prohibits the use of hand-held cell phones for novice drivers (drivers without licenses that confer full driving privileges), school bus drivers and commercial drivers. All drivers except school bus drivers are free to use hand-free cell phones while driving.
Both of these bans apply not only when the vehicle is moving, but also when it is stopped in traffic. The shoulder of the road, however, is an appropriate place to text or use a cell phone. Be careful – individual Minnesota cities and counties are entitled to enact their own distracted driving ordinances that apply locally.
Penalties
The fine for violating Minnesota’s distracted driving statute is $50 for a first offense and $225 for each succeeding offense, plus court costs.
In the Event of an Accident
If you are involved in a car wreck that resulted in an injury while texting or illegally using a cell phone, and if a lawsuit results, it is quite likely that the opposing party will try to use your actions against you in court to assert that the accident was partly or wholly your fault.
Normally, the person accusing you has the burden of proving that the accident was your liability. In Minnesota, violating the distracted driving statute will shift the burden of proof to you to prove that you were not liable for the accident. You would probably have to resort to asserting that your act of texting or illegally using a cell phone while driving was not negligent under the particular circumstances of the accident. If you can’t prove this, you could still win a lawsuit filed against you by proving that the person suing you was at least 51 percent at fault for the accident.
Likewise, if you are the one who filed the lawsuit, the defendant can win by showing that your distracted driving was negligent, that it was a substantial cause of the accident, and that you were at least 51 percent at fault for the accident. Even if the accident was mostly the defendant’s fault, as long as you were partly at fault, the defendant could reduce his damages by an amount that is proportionate to your degree of fault.
Possible Criminal Penalties
Normally, texting and driving or cell phone use violations do not result in criminal charges. In some cases, however, the state might initiate a criminal prosecution. If the driver whose conduct is at issue is found to have acted with criminal negligence – generally, causing death or serious injury while consciously disregarding an unreasonable risk to the safety of another – the driver can be convicted of a crime. Whether or not a driver’s negligence qualifies as “criminal” depends on the particular circumstances surrounding the accident.
– Updated through September 1, 2016