New Jersey driving lesson · Driver Privileges and Penalties
Other motor vehicle violations
A 3-minute lesson from the New Jersey course. Read the rules and examples, follow the handbook page references, and check your understanding before you move on.
Beyond DUI, New Jersey sets specific penalties for unsafe and reckless driving, abandoned cars, open containers, hit-and-run and lying to the MVC. Fines double in construction and 65 mph zones.
Unsafe driving (endangering people or property)
Unsafe driving (endangering people or property)
Offense
Fine
1st
$50 to $150
2nd
$100 to $250
3rd or later
$200 to $500; 4 points if within 5 years of the prior
Abandoning a vehicle on a limited-access highway for four hours or more: $100 to $500 and up to two years' loss of privileges; later offenses $500 to $1,000 and up to five years.
The same penalties apply to vehicles abandoned 48 hours or more on any highway or public property, or on private property without consent, and to vehicles left anywhere without current plates.
Open or unsealed alcohol containers, or unsealed cannabis items, in the passenger area: $200 for a first offense; $250 or 10 days of community service after that.
Fines double for moving violations in highway construction zones (such as reckless or careless driving, speeding, tailgating, improper turns or passing) and in 65 mph zones (speeding 10+ over, racing, careless driving, and more).
Insurance fraud: up to $5,000 and/or up to three years in prison. If $500 or less, up to $500 and/or six months as a disorderly person. A conviction also costs your license for one year.
Hit-and-run with injury or death: $2,500 to $5,000 and/or 180 days in jail, plus a one-year license loss for a first offense and permanent loss for a later one.
Lying on a license or registration application: $200 to $500 and/or up to six months in jail, plus loss of license or registration privileges for six months to two years.
A driver leaves his broken-down car on the shoulder of the Garden State Parkway overnight without permission. After four hours it's considered abandoned: a $100 to $500 fine and possible loss of privileges for up to two years.
Check your understanding
Read the question, decide on an answer, then open it to check the explanation. These are Roadwise study questions based on the source handbook.
What is the fine range for hit-and-run involving bodily injury or death in New Jersey?
$500 to $1,000
$100 to $500
$5,000 to $10,000
$2,500 to $5,000
Answer: $2,500 to $5,000
Hit-and-run involving bodily injury or death may result in a fine of $2,500 to $5,000 and up to 180 days in jail.