Oregon’s roads are safer than the roads of most other states, with a particularly low rate of alcohol-related fatalities. The use of hand-held electronic devices such as cell phones, however, is still problematic. The Oregon legislature has, predictably, responded with distracted driving legislation that imposes significant penalties on violators. These penalties, however, are not the only potential penalties that a distracted driver might face under the Oregon legal system.
Distracted Driving Restrictions in the State of Oregon
Both texting and using a hand-held cell phone are illegal in Oregon. Drivers under 18 are prohibited from using all cell phones, even hands-free versions.
The law carves out certain exceptions:
- Summoning emergency help if no other help is available
- Using a device for farming or agricultural purposes
- Using a device while volunteering to perform public safety services
- In the line of duty, if the use is necessary for your job
- As an on-duty public safety employee
The maximum fine for distracted driving in Oregon is $500.
In the Event of an Accident
In Oregon, if you cause an accident while texting and driving or illegally using a cell phone, and if someone sues you, you will be considered automatically liable for the damages of the person who sued you (including another driver or even one of your own passengers), unless someone else was at least 51 percent at fault. If the person suing you was also to blame but less than 51 percent at fault, the damages you will have to pay will be reduced precisely by the other party’s percentage of fault.
Even if you were the one injured in the accident and you file a lawsuit against the at-fault driver, you can lose the case if the defendant can prove that the accident was at least 51 percent your fault. If you were also to blame (for texting and driving, for example) but your fault was less than 51 percent, the damages you will be entitled to will be reduced precisely by your own percentage of fault.
Possible Criminal Prosecutions
In an extreme case, you could be arrested for distracted driving. It all depends on how serious your negligence was under the circumstances. If the accident caused death or serious injury, and if your negligence was serious enough to constitute a failure to be aware of a major safety risk in a manner that constituted a “gross deviation” from the standard of care that a “reasonably prudent person” would exercise, the court could classify your behavior as “criminal negligence” and you could up being charged with a felony and going to prison.
No one can say for sure exactly where the line between ordinary negligence and criminal negligence is drawn – it all depends on the particular circumstances of your case. Criminal negligence might be found, for example, if distracted driving was only one of several traffic violations you were committing at the time of the accident. Would driving the wrong way down a one-way street while texting your friend qualify? No one can tell you for sure until a verdict is reached.
– Updated through September 1, 2016