New Jersey Accident and Injury Law Blog : New Jersey Injury Lawyer & Attorney : The Grossman Law Firm : Serving Monmouth County, Bergen County

For many parents, it's one of the biggest dilemmas they will ever face. Buying a first car for your teenage motorist is a major decision. For a parent, the statistics are sobering. Auto accidents continue to be the number one cause of death for teenagers between 15 and 19 years of age. 44% of all teen deaths every year occur during accidents.

With facts like this, you need to make a safe, informed decision that considers your child's safety first and foremost. The best thing you could do for your child is to ignore his preferences while making a decision. Teenagers tend to like fast, high performance cars, and these are not the ideal vehicles for them. So, what should you look for while choosing a car for your teenager?

However, some experts warn that buying a new car for your teen could encourage speeding and reckless driving. They believe a used car is a better option. Still others believe that a teenager should only be allowed to use the family car. This allows you to maintain control over his driving. Ultimately, it comes down to your teenager's personality. You know your child best, and if you feel he or she would be safer in a slower, used car, by all means make that decision.

Fortunately, new cars come with enhanced auto safety features. Electronic Stability Control systems, side air bag systems and antilock brakes are just three features that can keep your child safe in an accident, and that are increasingly available on many models.

The American Automobile Association as well as Consumer Reports suggests a passenger car as a teenage motorist’s first car. These cars are easier to handle, unlike sports utility vehicles and pickup trucks which may be your child's favorite, but are at a high risk of rollovers.

Before you make a decision, check the car’s safety ratings on the websites of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety as well as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey injury lawyer, representing injured victims of auto accidents across New Jersey.

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A new American Automobile Association study shows that New Jersey's Graduated Driver's License program for teen drivers, has being successful in its target – fewer teen accidents.  According to the study, there has been a substantial drop in the number of fatal accidents involving teen motorists since the new laws were passed.

In 2001, New Jersey enacted new GDL laws that included

•  Restrictions on the number of passengers teen motorists could have
•  More hours of practice driving
•  Restrictions on driving at night that prevented motorists with a learner's permit from driving between 11 PM and 5 AM, and provisional license holders from driving between midnight and 5 AM

Those laws seem to have had the required effect. The AAA study showed that there was a reduction in the number of 17-year-old teen motorists involved in fatal accidents between 2002 and 2005, compared to 1998 to 2000. Statistics for crashes involving teen motorists after midnight were even better with the accident rate after midnight for 17-year-old motorists dropping by 44%. That's not all. There were major reductions in accident rates and injury rates in all teen accidents that were reported to the police, accidents that resulted only in injuries, as well as fatal accidents involving 17-year-olds. Post-midnight accidents involving 18-year-olds went down by 17%.

This reduction in injuries, fatalities and accidents has been encouraging enough for safety advocates to push for stronger laws involving parental involvement. According to New Jersey Division of Highway Safety Chief Sam Fisher, the agency is working with the Motor Vehicle Commission to study how parents of teen motorists can get more involved in teen safety issues. One bill that was linked to this issue passed the Assembly last year, and will be introduced this year. The bill will require parents of motorists below the age of 18 to attend a teen motorist safety orientation program.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey car accident lawyer representing injured victims of car accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties, and across the state of New Jersey.

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A controversial new law that will require New Jersey motorists driving under a permit or probationary license to display a red decal on the license plate, will go into effect on May 1^st.

The law is called Kyliegh’s Law, and is named after Kyliegh D’Alessio , a teenager who was killed in a car accident caused by a probationary driver. It will require all drivers, both new and current, holding a probationary license to place the red decals on the top left corner of the license plate. Probationary license holders will be required to purchase the decals at four dollars a pair. After a teen motorist completes the probationary term, he or she can remove the decals from the license plate. The decals are removable, so if other family members want to use the same car, they can merely remove the decal.

The law has not been without its share of controversy. Critics believe that it discriminates based on age, and filed a lawsuit which was dismissed early this month after a judge ruled that there was nothing unconstitutional about the law. With the new law, New Jersey police will be able to better enforce the state's GDL laws.

It will be a while before the dust settles around this new piece of legislation. Teen motorists are likely to continue to complain. The fact is however, that teen motorists are at a high risk of death in automobile accidents. If a law like this can encourage teen motorists to follow rules regarding the number of passengers they have in their car, or the hours they are allowed to drive, then it’s worth it.

Scott Grossman is a New Jersey accident lawyer, representing injured victims of auto and car accidents in Monmouth, Bergen, Passaic and Ocean Counties and across the state of New Jersey.

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We have to wait till next year to see if Kyleigh’s Law will actually reduce the number of car accidents involving teen drivers, but the legislation has already generated plenty of heat.

Just under two weeks ago, Governor Jon Corzine signed the legislation that will require drivers below the age of 21 who don’t have full driving privileges yet, to display an identifying decal on their vehicles, allowing officers to distinguish them from others. The law is first of its kind to be passed in the country, and the main intent is to make these younger and inexperienced drivers easily identifiable.

The law is named after Morris County teenager Kyleigh D’Alessio, who died in a car accident involving a teenage driver. The decal itself will be a small rectangle affixed to both front and back license plates, enabling police to identify these drivers easily. According to the New Jersey Division of Highway Safety, cops will identify teen drivers violating curfews, or passenger restrictions with the help of the decals.

Not surprisingly, teen drivers have not been too happy about a law they say is equivalent to profiling on the basis of age. One attorney in Rockaway has already filed a lawsuit to overturn the law on behalf of his teenage son and nephew. According to lawyer Gregg D Trautmann who’s suing the governor and state of New Jersey, the law would give police a free pass to pull over and harass young drivers needlessly. Besides, criminals including sex offenders, would be able to identify young drivers through the decals on their cars.

However, New Jersey’s car accident lawyers and law enforcement agencies have wholeheartedly supported the bill. It’s a fact that accidents are the number one cause of teen deaths. According to the Teen Driver Study Commission, there were 55,792 teen-related accidents in New Jersey in 2006. These left 48 teen drivers and 19 teen passengers dead. The Teen Driver Study Commission had made a set of recommendations to Governor Corzine, including the development of an identifier that could mark a vehicle driven by a new driver with a permit or probationary license, and make the vehicle easily identifiable.

We need to be making more efforts to instill safe driving practices among our teen drivers, and if an identifying system helps us monitor and correct teen driving behavior than this Monmouth County personal injury lawyer is all for it.

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