Kenneth Vercammen is a Middlesex County Trial Attorney who has published 130 articles in national and New Jersey publications on Criminal Law, Probate, Estate and litigation topics.

He was awarded the NJ State State Bar Municipal Court Practitioner of the Year.

He lectures and handles criminal cases, Municipal Court, DWI, traffic and other litigation matters.

To schedule a confidential consultation, call us or New clients email us evenings and weekends via contact box www.njlaws.com.

Kenneth Vercammen & Associates, P.C,

2053 Woodbridge Avenue,

Edison, NJ 08817,

(732) 572-0500

Thursday, December 28, 2017

Civil Model Jury Charge 5.30H DUTY OF CARE: DRIVER OF MOTOR VEHICLE PROCEEDING THROUGH AN INTERSECTION CONTROLLED BY A STOP SIGN/FLASHING RED TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE

5.30H Duty Of Care: Driver Of Motor Vehicle Proceeding Through An Intersection Controlled By A Stop Sign/Flashing Red Traffic Control Device (Revised 6/07)[1]
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/civil/civindx.html
Our motor vehicle laws set forth a standard of conduct to be exercised by the driver of a motor vehicle while approaching and proceeding through an intersection controlled by a [stop sign] [flashing red traffic control device].
NOTE TO JUDGE
Use whichever of the following is appropriate based upon the configuration of the intersection:
N.J.S.A. 39:4-144 provides in pertinent part:
No driver of a vehicle . . . shall enter upon or cross an intersecting street marked with a stop sign unless he has first brought his vehicle . . . to a complete stop at a point within 5 feet of the nearest crosswalk or stop line marked upon the pavement at the near side of the intersecting street and shall proceed only after yielding the right of way to all traffic on the intersecting street which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.
N.J.S.A. 39: 4-110(a) provides:
Flashing red: The red lens when illuminated with rapid intermittent flashes shall require drivers to come to a complete stop before entering or crossing the intersection. The driver shall proceed only after yielding the right of way to all traffic on the intersecting street, which traffic is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.
The above provision requires that the motorist stop and make observations while stopped before proceeding. It also requires the motorist to continue to make observations as he or she enters and crosses the intersecting street as the circumstances at the particular intersection reasonably require. The presence of permanent or temporary obstructions to the view of the motorist, such as buildings, billboards, parked cars, crowded sidewalks, etc., does not obviate the duty of the motorist to make continual reasonable observations as he or she proceeds through the intersection, and is a factor for you to consider in determining whether the drivers conduct was negligent under the circumstances.


[1] See generally Cresse v. Parsekian, 81 N.J. Super. 536, 545-46 (App. Div. 1964), affd 43
N. J. 326 (1964); State v. Jamerson, 153 N.J. 318 (1998).

5.30H Duty Of Care: Driver Of Motor Vehicle Proceeding Through An Intersection Controlled By A Stop Sign/Flashing Red Traffic Control Device (Revised 6/07)[1]
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/civil/civindx.html
Our motor vehicle laws set forth a standard of conduct to be exercised by the driver of a motor vehicle while approaching and proceeding through an intersection controlled by a [stop sign] [flashing red traffic control device].
NOTE TO JUDGE
Use whichever of the following is appropriate based upon the configuration of the intersection:
N.J.S.A. 39:4-144 provides in pertinent part:
No driver of a vehicle . . . shall enter upon or cross an intersecting street marked with a stop sign unless he has first brought his vehicle . . . to a complete stop at a point within 5 feet of the nearest crosswalk or stop line marked upon the pavement at the near side of the intersecting street and shall proceed only after yielding the right of way to all traffic on the intersecting street which is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.
N.J.S.A. 39: 4-110(a) provides:
Flashing red: The red lens when illuminated with rapid intermittent flashes shall require drivers to come to a complete stop before entering or crossing the intersection. The driver shall proceed only after yielding the right of way to all traffic on the intersecting street, which traffic is so close as to constitute an immediate hazard.
The above provision requires that the motorist stop and make observations while stopped before proceeding. It also requires the motorist to continue to make observations as he or she enters and crosses the intersecting street as the circumstances at the particular intersection reasonably require. The presence of permanent or temporary obstructions to the view of the motorist, such as buildings, billboards, parked cars, crowded sidewalks, etc., does not obviate the duty of the motorist to make continual reasonable observations as he or she proceeds through the intersection, and is a factor for you to consider in determining whether the drivers conduct was negligent under the circumstances.


[1] See generally Cresse v. Parsekian, 81 N.J. Super. 536, 545-46 (App. Div. 1964), affd 43
N. J. 326 (1964); State v. Jamerson, 153 N.J. 318 (1998).