New Kinnelon Drivers Learn About Safety and School Restrictions

Every ten minutes, a teen driver between 16 and 25 years of age gets into a motor vehicle accident, crashing their cars. This alarming statistic was just one of many shared by Pam Fisher, a former employee of the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic and Safety, during Kinnelon's Driver Safety Night Tuesday.

Kinnelon High School hosted the program, which was mandatory for high school juniors and seniors who wish to drive to school in the 2011-2012 school year.

Fisher used statistics in her presentation to help argue the dangers of driving that can occur with new drivers if they are not being careful.

"The No. 1 cause of crashes in our state is distraction and inattention," she said.

Fisher spoke about the Graduated Driver's License Program (GDL), which is a program in which new drivers gain several years of experience driving with restricted licenses until they are able to have an unrestricted license. These restrictions include only being allowed one passenger in your vehicle when you are 17 years old or older and not being allowed to drive between 11:01 p.m. and 5 a.m. Restricted drivers are also not able, by law, to make plea bargains in the event they are issued a summons for a traffic violation, according to Kinnelon Police Sgt. Christopher Burns, who also spoke Tuesday.

Fisher also explained that before a driver has an unrestricted license, their license appears vertically, as opposed to horizontally like most licenses, so that law enforcement officials are able to recognize who is a newer driver. Another effort the state has made to make it easier for motorists and law enforcement officials to identify drivers in the GDL program are small decals the new drivers must put on their license plates.

Decals are used in other countries, such as Japan, Norway, Germany and Canada, Fisher said, and those countries have had less accidents.

Fisher also emphasized that parents should practice driving with their teens.

"It takes 1,000 hours of driving before the crash risk comes down," she said.

"You matter in this equation, it starts with us. You have to be engaged, you have to know the law."

Sgt. Burns repeated Fisher's sentiments about parental involvement.

"It does start at home, it needs to start at home," he said.

Burns said the police department receives calls from parents complaining about a restricted driver having more than one passenger in their vehicle, but that that's "not really a police issue" and more something parents should talk to their kids about. When police do find drivers with more than one passenger who are not allowed, oftentimes they call the parents so that they can get the parents more involved.

"We want to make it a little inconvenient for the people so that they realize this is a serious issue," he said.

Burns said police do see violations of the restrictions, but that the violations are not as prevalent as one might think.

Angelo Lobosco, a Kinnelon lawyer, spoke about the penalties young drivers can face if they do receive summonses and the cost of driving in the state of New Jersey.

"The cost to drive in New Jersey is $2,000 to $10,000," he said, explaining that he knew a teenage driver who already had seven points on his license, causing his insurance to be very expensive. He also encouraged drivers to have a good amount of coverage with their insurance.

"You should carry as much liability coverage as you can afford," he said, however he did warn that the more you carry the more it will cost.

After the speakers, Vice Principal Matthew Scanlon went over rules as far as letting new drivers park on the school campus.

"It is something you earn," he said, explaining that in order to be able to park at school, students must maintain good attendance and not be tardy, maintain good grades and have good behavior. If these criteria are not met, the school can revoke a student's parking priveleges.

Additionally, by signing up, all students who wish to park at the school agree to a voluntary drug screening, Scanlon said-a program that has been done in the school for the past three years.

Kinnelon parent Grace Davin was glad parents were invited to the presentation, as well as students.

"I think it was a great idea to have both parents and students," she said. "It's good to see police and the teachers together. I think it was an excellent program."

Karen Acosta, another Kinnelon parent, said she was surpirsed to learn about the vertical license for restricted drivers.

Maribeth Smialek also enjoyed the presentation, but said she wished more students were paying attention to the speakers.

"I think it's great, but I wish that more kids were paying attention," she said.

Smialek said she has been driving for over 35 years, but the program was a refresher for even her.