Stickers will identify Mid'town teen drivers

Bright yellow stickers with the letters "GDL" may soon be affixed to the bumpers of cars driven by Middletown Township high school students as part of a pilot program for teen driver safety.

ERIC SUCAR staff Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno displays one of the decals that will be used to identify autos driven by teens with provisional driver's licenses. The Feb. 14 press conference at the Middletown Police Department was held to announce a regional Teen Driver Safety Initiative pilot program. "After a rash of tragedies in the area, we got together as stakeholders to talk about how we could take action,"AssemblywomanAmy Handlin (R-13) said Feb. 14. "The status quo out there is unacceptable and we want to create a safe environment for young people."

At a press conference held in the conference room of town hall last Thursday, Handlin, along with Monmouth County Sheriff Kim Guadagno, Freeholders Lillian Burry and Barbara McMorrow andAssistant School Superintendent David Healy, spoke about the new program.

The "GDL" on the stickers stands for Graduated Driver's License, the provisional license assigned to 17-year-olds in New Jersey.

Assemblywoman Amy Handlin (R-13) holds up one of the decals that will be used as part of a Regional Teen Drive Safety Initiative pilot program. The stickers will stay on the car until they are 18 and meet the requirements for a regular driver's license.

Although the decal is not yet mandated by law, Handlin said that it is in a proposed bill, adding that she is tired of waiting for the bill to make its way through the Legislature in Trenton.

"As we all know, the wheels of government turn very slowly," Handlin said. "We decided to take matters into our own hands and create a pilot provisional drivers program. Middletown will be the first to adopt them."

Handlin said that the program stems from the rash of teen driving related deaths in the past year, some involving local teen drivers.

Middletown High School North student Dana Centanni, 16, died, and schoolmate Lindsay Capatasto, also 16, was critically injured on Oct. 6 after the car they were passengers in went off the road and struck a light stanchion in East Brunswick.

The driver of the four-door 2003 Toyota, who lost control of the vehicle, and two other passengers were also hospitalized, but were later discharged.

Centanni was in the back seat of the vehicle at the time of the accident, which was one of several involving young drivers last year.

Similar tragedies took place in other towns.

On Jan. 10, 2007, three Freehold High School students including driver Michael Dragonetti, 17, and his two passengers, Andrew Lundy, 16, and JamesWarnock, 17 were killed after their vehicle crashed into a school van on Kozloski Road. The driver of the van was also killed in the crash.

On Feb. 5 of the same year, William Brennessel, 18, of Freehold Township was found guilty in municipal court of speeding, reckless driving and violating the terms of his provisional driver's license in that 2007 accident.

Healy said that the decal would in the near future become a part of the application process for seniors seeking parking permits at the township high schools in the near future.

He said that he would like to start giving out the stickers before prom season or graduation but sees September as the probable start date.

"We have to let these kids know that driving is a privilege, not a right," Healy said. "It is a large responsibility that shouldn't be taken lightly."

The restrictions under the Graduated Driver's License include: no driving between 12:01 a.m. and 5 a.m.; all except one passenger must be from the driver's household; and cell phones, handheld video games or any other hand-held electronic devices are prohibited while driving.

"Police have no way of identifying who has a provisional license on the road," Handlin said. "They can see drivers who look young in the wee hours of the morning, but they can't identify how old these drivers are."

Handlin said the pilot program has three goals: to protect the teens on the road, to help build awareness and to serve as a test run for other communities.

Guadagno agreed with the goals and said she is proud to be a part of the program.

"We have to let these young people know that when they get in the car with someone who has the sticker they realize that the driver is special," Guadagno said. "They have to know that they follow certain rules."

She said she feels that it is important that passengers and other drivers on the road realize who these new drivers are, and that they are just beginning to learn to drive on their own.

McMorrow said that she feels this program will save lives and prevent accidents.

"If we save one life because of this program, all of it will be worth it," McMorrow said. "When we lose one life, it's one too many."

She said that the program was developed not with drugs and/or alcohol in mind, but because these drivers are teenagers and they make mistakes.

"It's just like when you see a car that says 'Student Driver,' you drive a bit more carefully around them," McMorrow said. "You realize that these are new drivers and you will stop and think."

All of the speakers agreed that the program would have to reach out to the parents of the drivers.

"Parents are key in this issue," Mc- Morrow said. "We want to have a parent orientation program which we want to make mandatory so that they can understand better what their kids are supposed to be doing."

Middletown Police Chief Robert Oches said that the police department has given the program its full support.

"The object of the whole program is to gain compliance and awareness," Oches said. "We are hoping that parents take the lead in this."

Handlin said that she would be attempting to implement the program throughout the rest of her legislative district and would then present the findings in Trenton as part of Gov. Jon Corzine's Teen Driving Commission.

If the program works in Middletown, Handlin said, she would like to bring it to towns such as Hazlet, Aberdeen, Keyport and Holmdel as well.

Healy was proud to say that the program would begin in his school system.

"We are proud to be in the forefront of this initiative," Healy said. "Anything that can prevent our students from getting hurt is something we will stand for."