News
Legislators Urge Repeal Of Teen Driver Decal Law
By Ryan Fennell
TRENTON - How do you spot a young, inexperienced driver? Look for the red decal.
Earlier this year Kyleigh's Law, a law that sets certain requirements and restrictions on provisional drivers, went into effect. Under the law a red decal is required to be displayed on a provisional driver's vehicle or be subject to a $100 fine.
While intended to provide a certain level of safety for provisional drivers and experienced drivers alike, some lawmakers believe the decal goes too far.
State Senator Jennifer Beck (R-12) recently put forth an amendment to a bill that would commission a study on the whole of Kyleigh's Law to repeal the decal requirement immediately. The bill passed the Senate but the amendment was blocked.
"I have heard repeatedly from my constituents that they do not support the teen driver decal requirement that was implemented as part of Kyleigh's Law," Beck said. "While the law was meant to keep young drivers safe, many teens and their parents feel like it puts them at increased risk."
In response to the defeated amendment, Beck has co-sponsored a bill that would remove the red decal requirement from the law and replace it with "a new, inconspicuous system for law enforcement officials to identify novice drivers."
A description of the new system includes providing the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission a description of each motor vehicle that the provisional driver might be driving during the permit or probationary driver's license period.
Law enforcement officials would use the information to properly identify new drivers on the state's roads and highways.
"It's clear that despite being well intentioned, many parents are concerned that the decal requirement inappropriately alerts others to the presence of minors," Beck said. "We can enact common sense changes to allow for provisional drivers license laws to be enforced, while alleviating the concerns of parents and young drivers."
Shortly after the red decal requirement was implemented State Senator Sean Kean (R-11) sponsored a bill that would repeal the requirement but that bill has not been moved.
"Nothing is going to change for a while now," Kean said. "They're putting together this study commission. Study commissions take awhile. I think it would have been more prudent to go ahead and repeal that section of the law that requires the decal."
Kean said that his constituents, as well as friends and acquaintances, have contacted him about their concerns with the decal requirement.
"This issue has resonated with parents who are concerned for the safety of their children," Kean said. "They're afraid that other drivers are going to act in such a way to intimidate them or act belligerently, not even talking about the idea that somebody could be out there as a predator, although that's a concern too."
Kean said that he voted for the decal bill but since then has changed his position.
"I voted for that decal bill but when we do something that's wrong we should correct it," said Kean. "I believe we did something wrong and we should react quickly to fix it."
Kean said that through his experience no one is adhering to the law and law enforcement is not issuing tickets to violators.
"I don't see those stickers out there. The police aren't writing those tickets," Kean said. "I think it's bad public policy."
"All of this has to be balanced with safety," Kean added. "And I think we went too far with this. I don't think it is reasonable under the circumstances."
