Kyleigh’s Law took effect in New Jersey last month. It requires provisional drivers under 21 to display a red sticker on their license plate. Although it is claimed that the Law is intended to help police enforce restrictions on young drivers that limit the hours they can drive and the number of passengers in their cars, NYRA and a lot of parents and students believe that the decal provision makes younger drivers easy targets.
NYRA has been a vocal opponent of Kyleigh’s Law since it took effect and has received substantial press for encouraging New Jersey drivers to protest Kyleigh’s Law. A small group of parents and teen drivers gathered on May 13th to protest Kyleigh’ Law. Lawmakers who originally supported the bill are rethinking their decisions. The three state lawmakers – State Sen. Steve Oroho and Assembly members Alison Littell McHose and Gary Chiusano – who represent the Hamilton-area 14th District have all proposed legislation to repeal the “red scarlet” decal requirement of Kyleigh’s Law. State Senator Sean T. Kean, R-Monmouth, has co-sponsored a bill to repeal the decal portion of the law.
The new local chapter, NYRA-Central Jersey, which was created last month specifically to fight for the overturn of the decal requirement, is organizing protests against the law. See the news roundup below for all the coverage of NYRA’s involvement with Kyleigh’s Law.
Following on the heels of this bad law in NJ, the US Congress is debating a new bill – the STAND UP Act (The Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act) which was recently introduced in the Senate. Under this bill, people who are under 18 are not eligible for an unrestricted, full license. Sadly, the whole process follows the same pattern as the the passage of Kyleigh’s Law. No one, other than us, has actually considered the potential negative consequences of these new restrictions. New Jersey’s legislature has already made a mistake by passing Kyleigh’s Law and now they’re scrambling to fix that mistake before it’s too late. It is disconcerting to see lawmakers continue to make the same mistakes when it comes to issues of youth rights.
Please contact your Senators and Congressmen and let them know you think that those considering passage of the STAND UP Act should sit down and reconsider.
