Unsafe Driving Statute

One of the most frequently used plea bargaining provisions in Municipal Court is unsafe driving. Police officers do not issue summonses for unsafe driving. Instead, the purpose of the unsafe driving statute is to allow drivers to plea bargain traffic tickets. The law allows motorists to plead guilty to unsafe driving without incurring any motor vehicle points. However,  the benefit of the unsafe driving provision is only available to drivers twice in a five year period. In addition, drivers pleading guilty to unsafe driving are required to pay a $250 fee on top of the fine and court costs. Since drivers are only allowed to use this plea twice in five years, it is usually only advisable to plead to unsafe driving to satisfy high point summonses. Also, since New Jersey points do not transfer to New York, it is generally not worth the extra $250 for a New York licensee to resolve a New Jersey traffic ticket. As an experienced New Jersey traffic attorney, I can often resolve minor traffic summonses without resort to the unsafe driving statute. However, under the right circumstances, a plea to unsafe driving can be an excellent way to resolve one or more traffic summonses without incurring motor vehicle points.