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NJ: Driving While Tired Now a Crime

It is now a crime to drive while tired in New Jersey. It's called "Maggie's Law." [Not to be confused with the state's Megans Law."

Under Maggie's Law, police will not be pulling over drivers whose eyelids look heavy. But the law allows prosecutors to charge a motorist with vehicular homicide, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $100,000 fine, in the event of a deadly crash if there is evidence the accident was caused by sleepiness.

This strikes us as overkill and another feel-good unnecessary law. There are plenty of laws already on the books that criminalize the conduct of at-fault and negligent motorists who cause an auto accident that results in death. There's no need to specify every type of misconduct that fits the crime of vehicular homicide or criminally negligent homicide or whatever the law is called in a particular state. That's what juries do.

New York and Washington state are considering similar bills.

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