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ARTICLE · 10 SEPTEMBER 2013

The Second Opinion: Sender Of A Text Message Can Be Liable For Distracting A Driver

McCarthy Tétrault
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The dangers of texting while driving are well known, with distracted drivers properly found criminally and civilly responsible for the injuries they cause.

CanadaLitigation, Mediation & Arbitration
Kirsten Thompson
Kirsten Thompson
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The dangers of texting while driving are well known, with distracted drivers properly found criminally and civilly responsible for the injuries they cause.  In an interesting twist, the New Jersey Court of Appeal recently held that the person sending the text to a driver may also be held liable.

Context

Teenager Kyle Best and his friend Shannon Colonna were in the habit of texting each other frequently. One afternoon, immediately after punching out of his part time job at 5:41 pm, Best texted Colonna. He then got into his pickup truck and at 5:49, records show he made a 911 call to report that he hit and grievously injured two people on a motorcycle. Those same records also show that in the eight minutes between leaving work and the 911 call, Best and Colonna exchanged three texts while Best was driving.

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