US News

CAUTION: TEEN DRIVER ON BOARD

New Jersey could become the first state in the nation to require cars with teens behind the wheel to be marked with a sticker or decal.

Requiring a visible marker on a teen driver’s car is among 47 recommendations in a final report of the governor’s Teen Driver Study Commission.

The report outlines ways to improve safety for teen drivers, who are involved in 12 percent of the state’s motor-vehicle accidents.

“Being able to identify a teen driver stands out as the single most vexing issue for those responsible for administering and enforcing GDL [Graduated Driver’s License] laws,” according to the report.

“Requiring a GDL holder to display an identifier on the vehicle he or she is driving will aid police in enforcing the provisions of the GDL law and remove any concerns about ‘profiling.’ ”

Other states are considering a similar requirement, though none has adopted it, said Pam Fischer, director of the Highway Traffic Safety Commission and chairwoman of the panel. She said some European countries for years have successfully used placards to identify young drivers .

It would be up to the motor-vehicle department to figure out what the identifier would look like and where it would be affixed to the car.

New Jersey Assemblywoman Amy Handlin began a pilot program in her district this year in which parents and students could display decals with the letters “GDL” in bright colors to identify teen drivers. There was no word on how many have taken advantage of the program.

Handlin also has a bill in the Legislature to require the stickers statewide.

Forty-eight teenage drivers and 19 teen passengers died in car crashes in New Jersey in 2006, a 6 percent increase from the prior year.

Nationally, nearly 7,000 drivers ages 16 to 20 were killed in traffic accidents last year, and half of them were behind the wheel, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“When teens crash, they tend to take other people with them,” said Fischer.

Gov. Jon Corzine signed the law creating the panel following a fiery 2007 crash in Freehold Township that killed a teen driver, his two passengers and an elderly driver in another car. AP