New Jersey's Teen Driver Decals Linked with Fewer Crashes

The decal requirement, also known as Kyleigh’s Law, also supports the ability of police to enforce GDL provisions. In NJ, all novice drivers 16 to 20 years of age must display a reflectorized decal on the front and back of the vehicles they are operating.

Although decal provisions as part of GDL have been used in several countries for decades, their effectiveness had not yet been studied.

The study, which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, found in the first year after implementation of the law, the rate of police-reported crashes among intermediate drivers decreased 9 percent and the rate of GDL-related citations issued to intermediate drivers increased 14 percent.

“The rate of intermediate driver crashes significantly declined during the period after the decal requirement went into effect,” says lead author Allison Curry, PhD, MPH, director of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at CHOP.

“The number of crashes prevented is equivalent to the number of students attending a large high school. New Jersey youth and other road users are safer as a result of the decals.”