New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine Wednesday signed Kyleigh’s Law, making New Jersey the first state in the nation to have a teen driver decal law. Named in honor of 16-year old Kyleigh D’Alessio, S-2314/A-3069 requires the use of an identifier on vehicles driven by teens holding a permit or provisional license.

“Having a driver’s license is an awesome responsibility for any teenager,” Governor Corzine said. “The legislation I am signing today initiates several preventative measures to help avoid further teen driving tragedies like Kyleigh’s, while ensuring that our young people are better prepared to safely take to the roadways.”

The new law also will assist police in identifying young drivers who may be in violation of the Graduated Driver License (GDL) restrictions.

Governor Corzine also signed S-16/A-3070, revising nighttime driving and passenger restrictions on permit and provisional drivers. New Jerseys’ Graduated Driver License (GDL) law currently restricts teens on a provisional license from driving between midnight and 5 a.m. Although only 15 percent of miles driven by 16 and 17-year-olds are between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., more than 40 percent of their fatal crashes occur during this time period. The bill also renames the provisional license “probationary.”

The bills signed today address four recommendations contained in the Teen Driver Study Commission’s March 2008 report. Three of those recommendations are essential for stemming the tide of teen driver crashes that last year claimed 60 teen lives – 37 drivers and 23 passengers.

According to the NJ Teen Driver Study Commission Report, a teen driver is 158 percent more likely to be killed in a crash while carrying two passengers. The risk increases to 207 percent when there are three passengers in a teen driver’s car. The increased risk is often the result of distraction and others in the car encouraging the teen driver to take risks with most teen crashes in NJ occur after school.

In total, the report outlines 47 recommendations to help reduce teen crashes, and ultimately save lives. While the State has the oldest minimum driving age in the nation (17) and a strong Graduated Driver License (GDL) law that addresses teen risk factors (i.e., passengers, nighttime driving, cell phones, and seat belts), the Commission determined that more can and must be done to reduce teen driver crashes and save lives.

Between 2002 and 2008, more than 400 teen drivers and teens who were passengers in teen-driven vehicles, died on the state’s roadways.

(YWN Desk – NYC)