NJ Drivers under 21

[kacaju]

Below is the reson I dont like this decal idea. I will admit it is a petty reason.

As many people we are a busy family of 5. I see this decal as being a huge PTIA for us.
My daughter will not have her own car, she will be using ours. Sorry, I know it should be her responsibility, but how many of you who have teens think these kids will be able to remember to put the decals on everytime they drive?
Then remember to take them off once they get to where they need to go?
Since she will be using our cars so know do I have to be checking to see if she left the decal on? What if they get stolen, then she will have to keep buying new ones?
Like I said, it is petty, but I just see it as a huge PITA.



What happens if someone steals my teen’s decal? If my teen is stopped by a law enforcement officer, will s/he still be responsible?
Your teen is responsible for ensuring that his decals are displayed on the front and rear license plate of the vehicle he is operating. Having an extra set of decals on hand in case of theft or loss will help to alleviate this concern. Your teen may also remove the decals and store them in a safe place (such as the glove compartment) when he’s not driving. If your teen elects to leave his decals on the vehicle when not driving, remind him to check the vehicle’s license plates before taking to the road. In addition to the license plate check, teaching your new driver to check his vehicle regularly for potential hazards such as low tire pressure will ensure that he doesn’t encounter a problem, such as a flat tire, once on the road.

 

[Becky2005]

I'm not sure I get this. How does this work of the car they drive doesn't belong to them? If it is my car and I am out late, they are going to pull me over?

If it's my car (no sticker), and my child is out late, then this doesn't change anything.

That's what I am wondering. Plus although we have curfew here for drivers there are a whole lot of exceptions.

We do have bumper stickers you can put on your car that say "Student Driver, please be patient" -- I haven't figured out how to put the sticker on without it being permanent. I always crack up when I see those on cars and you can see it's a not a young person driving, although I suppose they could still be a student driver.

I know it said it's removable but most people aren't going to take the time to put it on, take it off, put it back on, etc... They will just leave it on OR not put it on.

I don't really have a problem with it other than a one thing they told us parents at Driver's Ed with the bumper sticker, we can use it or not. Sometimes other drivers see that and use it as a reason to drive like jerks to try and unnerve the student driver vs. giving them extra room/time.

 

[golfgal]

Below is the reson I dont like this decal idea. I will admit it is a petty reason.

As many people we are a busy family of 5. I see this decal as being a huge PTIA for us.
My daughter will not have her own car, she will be using ours. Sorry, I know it should be her responsibility, but how many of you who have teens think these kids will be able to remember to put the decals on everytime they drive?
Then remember to take them off once they get to where they need to go?
Since she will be using our cars so know do I have to be checking to see if she left the decal on? What if they get stolen, then she will have to keep buying new ones?
Like I said, it is petty, but I just see it as a huge PITA.



What happens if someone steals my teen’s decal? If my teen is stopped by a law enforcement officer, will s/he still be responsible?
Your teen is responsible for ensuring that his decals are displayed on the front and rear license plate of the vehicle he is operating. Having an extra set of decals on hand in case of theft or loss will help to alleviate this concern. Your teen may also remove the decals and store them in a safe place (such as the glove compartment) when he’s not driving. If your teen elects to leave his decals on the vehicle when not driving, remind him to check the vehicle’s license plates before taking to the road. In addition to the license plate check, teaching your new driver to check his vehicle regularly for potential hazards such as low tire pressure will ensure that he doesn’t encounter a problem, such as a flat tire, once on the road.

All of these were my first thoughts too. I suppose if you have a teen with their own car all of this works just fine but that isn't the case for most people.

 

[starwood]

I really see the opportunity for the police to target the teenage drivers with this. It seems that around here all they are doing is pulling over teenage drivers. Most of my son's friends have gotten tickets and DS had his first accident and they gave him a ticket for failure to yield even though he stopped at the stop sign and the car that hit him was definitely speeding so he misjudged the speed. One of his friends got pulled over because his GPS was too low on the windshield. I really think they are out to get the teenage drivers in our town.

 

[allison443]

Our town has a midnight curfew for kids under 18 but there are exceptions for kids coming home from work or a school event.

The NJ law does not contain such an exception.

 

[DisneySaver28]

I like the idea for provisional drivers. If the student has already gone through that period, then they shouldn't have to use one.

Additionally, how much are they going to cost? If you're in an area where the magnetic decals get stolen off of cars often, it's going to be a big PITA to have to spend money replacing!

 

[allison443]

I like the idea for provisional drivers. If the student has already gone through that period, then they shouldn't have to use one.

Additionally, how much are they going to cost? If you're in an area where the magnetic decals get stolen off of cars often, it's going to be a big PITA to have to spend money replacing!

It is only for provisional drivers under 21. The provisional period only lasts one year. So many people under 21 won't have to use these. If someone older than 21 gets their license for the first time, they do not have a provisional period.

The decals are $4 for a set of two (front and back plates). It is recommended to buy an extra set to keep in the car in case they are lost/stolen.

 

[java]

How about an over 65 sticker too? I've been rear ended twice by older drivers.

 

[allison443]

NJ already had restrictions for teenage provisional drivers during the one year after they got their license. They could only carry one non-related passenger and could not drive after midnight.

I enforced these laws with my kids, however I know some did not. They would allow their kids to have more than one passenger, and would allow their kids to drive after midnight. My kids knew we would take away their car privileges if they didn't follow the rules.

In fact, the woman who lobbied for this law got the law named after her daughter, who was killed in an accident while riding in a car with too many passengers. Apparently the mom allowed her daughter to go in the car even though it was over the limit. So I guess the point is the police are supposed to enforce the laws that the parents do not.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Most of my son's friends have gotten tickets and DS had his first accident and they gave him a ticket for failure to yield even though he stopped at the stop sign and the car that hit him was definitely speeding so he misjudged the speed. One of his friends got pulled over because his GPS was too low on the windshield. I really think they are out to get the teenage drivers in our town.

Respectfully - especially with the failure to yield ticket, are these the explanations given by the police? Or are they the ticketees (for lack of a better word) excuses?

 

[mtdevine615]

Stupid Law - But hey the world is full of them.

 

[mjkacmom]

I really see the opportunity for the police to target the teenage drivers with this. It seems that around here all they are doing is pulling over teenage drivers. Most of my son's friends have gotten tickets and DS had his first accident and they gave him a ticket for failure to yield even though he stopped at the stop sign and the car that hit him was definitely speeding so he misjudged the speed. One of his friends got pulled over because his GPS was too low on the windshield. I really think they are out to get the teenage drivers in our town.

Target away! Teens here are speeding all over town, and I have yet to see a single one who doesn't have a cellphone out. My oldest will get her permit in 2 1/2 years, and I have no problem with the extra time it will take to move the sticker around. Judging speed of other vehicles is probably one on the hardest things for new drivers to learn.

 

[sbell111]

The spots are magnetic, so an adult can take them off when he or she is driving.

License plates are made out of aluminum. Magnets don't stick to them.

I like the idea of more enforcement if laws are being broken, but I would like to see everyone being pulled over in that case, not selective enforcement because it is kids.

But, I guess it will make things easier on a cop to decipher whether they should pull someone over who is breaking teen only rules like being out past curfew, or has too many riders etc.

The claim is that the officer would only use these to pull the car over if the teen is violating GDL restrictions. However, I suspect that a police officer would be more likely to pull over a car with this sticker on it if they were 'mildly' breakling traffic laws such as going a few miles over the speed limit or following another car just a bit too closely. I further suspect that this sticker will lead to greater police 'profiling' of teens, not less as they state in the FAQ.

Also, I have no doubt that these stickers will be frequently stolen by other teens or would fall off by themselves after a while.

 

[carone0318]

Another thing to remember is if they are magnetic everytime you go through a car wash you better remove them or they won't be there when you come out. I had a Disney car magnetic and lost it in the car wash! My dd is 3 yrs away from a license - I'm sure they will come up with some other crazy stuff by then.

 

[allison443]

License plates are made out of aluminum. Magnets don't stick to them.
The claim is that the officer would only use these to pull the car over if the teen is violating GDL restrictions. However, I suspect that a police officer would be more likely to pull over a car with this sticker on it if they were 'mildly' breakling traffic laws such as going a few miles over the speed limit or following another car just a bit too closely. I further suspect that this sticker will lead to greater police 'profiling' of teens, not less as they state in the FAQ.

Also, I have no doubt that these stickers will be frequently stolen by other teens or would fall off by themselves after a while.

Yes, I don't think they are magnetic. I think they are some kind of velcro I wonder if they will stay "sticky" after being put on and taken off a few times.

 

[DBL101]

I fail to see how this could possibly help with teen driving restrictions. They have to be removable since the car may be driven by other drivers. If a teen is about to drive after curfew, or with too many people in the car, the first thing they will do is remove the decal/badge.

 

[Kathi OD]

I fail to see how this could possibly help with teen driving restrictions. They have to be removable since the car may be driven by other drivers. If a teen is about to drive after curfew, or with too many people in the car, the first thing they will do is remove the decal/badge.

The kids whose parents arleady enforce the teen driving restrictions without these stupid tags will get the tags and display them. The ones whose parents aren't enforcing the restrictions won't be displaying them. The chances of them getting caught driving without the sticker are slim and none, unless they're in an accident or get pulled over for a moving violation.

We have much bigger problems in NJ than worrying about a teen driving around with a sticker on their car alerting the world to the fact that they've been driving for less than a year. Honest to God, I really wonder about these people who have waay so much time on their hands that they are able to come up with this stuff.

So glad I'm not going to have to deal with this nonsense, as my kids are all more than 21.

 

[allison443]

The kids whose parents arleady enforce the teen driving restrictions without these stupid tags will get the tags and display them. The ones whose parents aren't enforcing the restrictions won't be displaying them. The chances of them getting caught driving without the sticker are slim and none, unless they're in an accident or get pulled over for a moving violation.

We have much bigger problems in NJ than worrying about a teen driving around with a sticker on their car alerting the world to the fact that they've been driving for less than a year. Honest to God, I really wonder about these people who have waay so much time on their hands that they are able to come up with this stuff.

So glad I'm not going to have to deal with this nonsense, as my kids are all more than 21.

I totally agree with you! (except I have one more future teen driver in my family!)

 

[golfgal]

Target away! Teens here are speeding all over town, and I have yet to see a single one who doesn't have a cellphone out. My oldest will get her permit in 2 1/2 years, and I have no problem with the extra time it will take to move the sticker around. Judging speed of other vehicles is probably one on the hardest things for new drivers to learn.

Don't they cell phone restrictions, at least for teens?

 

[mjkacmom]

Don't they cell phone restrictions, at least for teens?

NJ law is hands-free, and our town had that law years before NJ did. Doesn't stop them, especially the texting.