New Jersey has become the first state to pass a law against driving while drowsy. Under Maggie's Law, police will not pull over drivers falling asleep at the wheel. But the law allows prosecutors to charge a motorist with vehicular homicide, punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $100,000 fine, in the event of a deadly crash if there is evidence the accident was caused by sleepiness.
No driver has yet been charged under the law, which went into effect last month and was named for a 20-year-old college student killed in 1997 by a van driver who admitted having been up for 30 hours.