For many people owning a car gives them a sense of freedom and accomplishment. You might have worked after school for years saving up enough money to purchase your first car or at least put a down payment on a new car. For most people, this process runs smoothly. They buy a new car, get it registered with the Motor Vehicle Commission, and head out onto one of the numerous highway like those in Wall Township, Red Bank, Brick or Lakewood. But sometimes, life happens. What if you spend all of your hard-earned money on a vehicle only to have your driving privileges later revoked for speeding, DUI, or another youthful endeavor? Your most prized possession will become a four-thousand-pound paperweight that does nothing except prevent snow from piling up in your driveway. What if your friend or family member has the opposite problem – they have a valid driver's license but no car? Is it legal for your friend or family member to use your car while your driving privileges are suspended?

Who Can Drive My Car?

New Jersey law is fairly complex when it come to driving privileges, which can be revoked for a variety of reasons. But unless you have been convicted of driving with a suspended license, your vehicle registration may not necessarily be revoked. In other words, a friend or family member may be permitted to drive your car while your license is suspended. First, you should contact the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission to ensure that your registration is not suspended. If your registration is valid and you have the required insurance on your vehicle, then permitting another person to drive your vehicle is not illegal. There are, however, two important issues that you should consider before allowing another person to drive your car. First, make sure that your vehicle's auto insurance policy covers “permissive use,” which will allow another person to drive your car. Second, you should be aware that some police cruisers are equipped with license plate scanners. When your vehicle is scanned by a police cruiser, it will alert the officer that the vehicle is registered to a person with a suspended license. Again, it is not illegal to drive a car registered to a person with a suspended licenses, but this scenario could create headaches for the driver who will continually be stopped by the police under the suspension of driving with a suspended driver license. The police in Ocean Township are continually stopping drivers in the Asbury Park circle just for this reason. 

Never Drive With A Suspended Driver License

Regardless of who you let drive your car, you should keep in mind that you can never let an intoxicated person or an unlicensed driver to get behind the wheel of your car. You will be liable for any accidents that person may get in. Also, remember that if the person driving your car has a graduated driver's license you must still follow the rules applicable to the person actually driving the car. Never drive with a suspended license because the penalty would include revocation of your vehicle registration, along with fines, insurance points, surcharges, and an extended period of license suspension.

Contact A Point Pleasant Defense Attorney

The attorneys of Villani & DeLuca have been assisting their clients with driving violations for over 20 years. Know your rights when you are facing a possible driver license suspension. Call 732-965-3999 to speak with the knowledgeable defense attorneys at Villani & DeLuca to set up a FREE consultation. We have been helping drivers throughout Monmouth County and Ocean County since 1996.