There is no doubt that young drivers – those between the ages of 16 and 24 – are the most likely to have injury accidents and suffer the highest traffic fatality rates. This costs the auto insurance a great deal in addition to being a tragedy for the families involved.
The problem has not improved in recent years as highways get more crowded and teens have even more distractions – such as iPods and cell phones – to take their attention away from the road.
States Respond
In an attempt to rein in young drivers’ behavior and provide greater opportunities to gain education and experience, many states have turned to a “tiered” approach by which a young person’s first license limits their driving privileges substantially – for example, a teen driver can only operate a vehicle during certain times of the day, may not carry more than one passenger unless an adult is in the vehicle, etc. As the teen demonstrates skill and responsibility, these privileges are expanded until they are able to earn a full, unrestricted license when they reach adulthood.
The state of New Jersey is one such jurisdiction – and the Garden State’s legislature is carrying it a step further.
Marked!
As of 1 May 2010, drivers under the age of 21 who operate a motor vehicle in the state of New Jersey will be required to have a bright orange decal on the front and rear of their vehicles. Dubbed “Kyleigh’s Law” in memory of the late Kyleigh D’Alessio, a high school student killed in December of 2006, the new requirement will make a vehicle operated by a young driver with a learner’s permit or provisional license much easier to identify – by the police and anyone else.
Therein lies the source of the controversy, which has already brought on its first court challenge.
The Argument In Favor of Kyleigh’s Law
Aside from providing clear warning to those in traffic that they are following or being followed by an inexperienced young driver, it is expected that “teens are more likely to drive safely and stay compliant with the law if they know their cars are easily identified,” according to New Jersey Attorney General Paula Dow.
The Argument Against Kyleigh’s Law
Gregg Trautmann, a Morris County lawyer, has already filed a challenge to the law in Superior Court. He argues that the law is discriminatory, amounting to “profiling.” He adds that such a sticker will make young people a target of sexual predators.
Not so, says Dow. Although New Jersey is the first state to enact such a law, similar laws are used in the EU and Japan, where studies have failed to show that teens are any more at risk from such predators because of this identifier.
Trautmann also argues that the decal requirement violates the Constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure as well as the equal protection clause (out-of-state visitors are exempt).
So far, the courts have been upholding the law, but challenges and protests continue.
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