The Jersey Lawyer

On April 15, 2009, Governor Jon Corzine signed A-3069/S-2314 into law.  Known as “Kyleigh’s Law,” named after Kyleigh D’Alessio, a Long Valley teen who died in an auto accident in 2006, the law will require teen drivers who held a learner’s permit or provisional license to display a removable, transferable, decal on the front and rear of any vehicle they are driving so that police can identify teen drivers.  Theoretically, this law is supposed to enable police to better enforce regulations limiting the driving privileges of teen drivers, such as the limitation that teen drivers may not drive between the hours of 11:01 p.m. and 5:00 a.m., or the regulation that teen drivers may only have one passenger.

Critics of the law have argued that it unfairly targets a particular group and will only be used as a revenue driver by municipal police.  Others have argued that the law also puts more teen drivers on the road by limiting the number of passengers a teen driver can carry at any given time.  It is unclear whether the law will have any effect whatsoever on the number of accidents caused by inexperienced drivers. 

The law will not go into effect until April 2010.  This will give the Commissioner of the Motor Vehicle Commission time to design and issue the decals to permit holders and provisional drivers.  Drivers who will be required to display the decals will have to pay for them; however, the Commissioner will not be permitted to charge more for the decals than the actual cost of printing and distributing the decals.  If you have been charged with a traffic violation, disorderly person’s offense, or indictable offense in the State of New Jersey, contact a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer for assistance.  If you have been involved in an auto accident in New Jersey, contact a New Jersey auto accident lawyer for a case evaluation