Kyleigh’s Law requires young drivers to display red license plate decals
Donna Weeks, mother of Kyleigh D'Alessio (she was 16 ), who was a passenger killed on December 21, 2006 in the crash of a car driven by another teen, shows a sample of decal, which will be required to be attached to the license plate as of May 1.
MORRIS COUNTY -- Kyleigh’s Law, which requires young drivers to display decals on their license plates, continues to stir opposition, both from teens who are mostly affected by it and parents who say it makes youths targets for predators.
A rally promoted on Facebook purportedly by students against Kyleigh’s Law is expected to be held today at the Morris County office of a trio of District 24 Republican lawmakers who voted for the law last year when it overwhelmingly passed the Legislature.
Those lawmakers, state Sen. Steve Oroho, Assemblywoman Alison McHose and Assemblyman Gary Chiusano, all of Sussex, now are considering backing new Senate and Assembly bills that aim to repeal the law, said chief of staff Jeff Spatola.
"We have not come out publicly for a repeal yet. It’s something we are considering," Spatola said. "People who are calling in with real concerns think this wasn’t thought through at all. There’s real concern with putting kids in harm’s way in terms of predators."
• N.J. teens refuse to use red decal stickers required by Kyleigh's Law
• Fewer than one in four N.J. teen drivers purchased required license-plate decals
• N.J. legislators plan to introduce a bill rescinding Kyleigh's Law decal requirement
• Kyleigh's Law requires license decals for young N.J. drivers
• Bergen County lawmaker seeks to appeal teen driving decals in 'Kyleigh's Law'
"The bottom line is that red decal becomes a bullseye directly on that auto and that driver. It’s profiling young drivers," said Goodwin, who was not a lawmaker last year.
The law is named after Kyleigh D’Alessio, 16, of Long Valley, who was killed in a 2006 crash. Pam Fischer, director of the state Division of Highway Traffic Safety, who chaired a state Teen Driver Study Commission in 2007 that recommended Kyleigh’s Law, said the panel found decals would not make teens targets of predators. She also is "baffled" at opposition from legislators who voted for the law.
"This was not done in a vacuum. We did our homework," Fischer said. "We need those with this knee-jerk reaction to go back and look at the report. It’s not even two weeks since this took effect. You have to allow time to implement it. And we’re going to be evaluating it," through research, focus groups and data from courts, citations and police.
| Will the new N.J. teen driver decal law actually stick? |