We propose to eliminate the aspect of Kyleigh’s law that requires young drivers to display the red decals on their front and rear license plates. All other aspects of the law will remain the same. The curfew and restrictions will remain 11:01 pm to 5 am, and drivers will be limited to dependents and one other passenger. The law will require all passengers to wear seat belts and no interaction with a distracting device while driving.
Parents of 16-17 year olds and the children themselves will promote the solution and encourage the policy making process:
Policy makers respond to public opinion because they need to listen to the voices of their state, community, or country. They need to do what they can to satisfy as many people as possible. Public opinion is one of the main ways policymakers can hear about the major issues.
Members of communities that wish to have their voice heard by public officials can call, email, or write to the officials in their area. For those that wish to have a more direct conversations, attending board meetings, public events, and scheduling meetings or interviews with a public official may be more influential.
A high level of public support is necessary to end this issue for several reasons. If we stand alone, our voice will not be heard. We need to come together to show policymakers our opinions on this issue.
In order to fully eliminate Kyleigh’s Law in New Jersey both supporters and opponents of the law will have to communicate to influence and change the current law. With an overwhelming majority of the state opposing the law policy makers should already be able to see the law is making people upset. However many parents, such as Bethany Johnson who claimed “"The average teenager is driving irresponsibly and there needs to be a way to identify them”, will need to be influenced and educated through conferences held across the state, open debates on the topic, groups of people who come together and spread their knowledge on the topic through speaking to crowdson the major problems with the law (St. Martin). Many people who have been in a car crash, or can in some way relate to this issue, have been seen as supporters of the law, and these are the people that are keeping the law implemented. The solution we have proposed however has what we believe is the best of both worlds by keeping the parts that are necessary, such as curfew and number of people allowed in a new driver's car, and removes the unnecessary parts, such as the red decals. If people can see the issues with the red decals then a change in the law can be made while keeping the necessary parts to keep new drivers and all people safe.
In the policy making process, policy makers are essential to pass new laws and hear the opinions of members of the community. Good communication and an understanding of the states' wants and needs is necessary for the benefit of both parties.
Thomas Kean and Ronald Rice are New Jersey Senators, and New Jersey House of Reps include Jon Bramnick, Eric Munoz, Craig Stanley, and Donald Tucker. All of these men can bring new bills to light when meeting in congress. After a bill has been passed through the congress Chris Christie, New Jersey Governor, can sign the bill to enact a new law or veto the bill resulting in no new law.
Many people already are against this law. It is very controversial, because of the problems that it has caused. Both parents and teens have protested against the decals by refusing to add them to their car. One group in specific calls themselves “NJ teens against Kyleigh’s Law”, a group that recognizes the dangers of this policy.
One of the biggest supporters of this law is Donna Weeks. It is because of her daughter that this law is in place. She has met with the Assemblyman Guy Gregg, in order to discuss these laws. Another group that advocates for the decals is called “Drive Safer”. They believe this law will save lives, when in fact it just puts young teens in danger. They will both need to be convinced, including many more, of the danger this law brings.
In order to implement the change in Kyleigh’s Law throughout New Jersey policy makers will need to see the amount of people truly reject the law through petitions, letters, emails, and conferences.The governor or mayors from around the state can formulate these active actions by getting help from people in the state of New Jersey as there are a lot of people concerned with this Law and the effects on the kids. The best way to change a law or part of society is through showing its flaws. If policy makers are able to see the harmful effects of the red decals then a change will mostly likely be made. Policy makers need to see that parts of Kyleigh’s Law are good and help the state, yet the law has flaws and only those parts of the law need to be changed.
We will communicate with New Jersey legislature and state Congress. Their involvement is necessary for our policy to be put into effect.
We will encourage drivers to stop using their decals as a way of peacefully protesting until our plan is put into action.
To raise awareness among the public, we can make posters, spread the word on social media and reach others at school. In high school drivers ed classes new lessons on Kyleigh’s law can be implemented to teacher new drivers, from the beginning, the effects of the law.
We will appeal to the public’s emotions and hope that their love for their children persuades them to support the policy.
We will communicate public opinion to policy makers through calls, letters, and meetings. We want our voices heard about this topic and will communicate as much as possible to get our plan done. The major key is making sure the communities, that make up our great state of New Jersey, have their voices heard. If the majority of people can voice their opinions and fear over the law the policy makers in New Jersey can’t do anything but listen.
We want to eliminate the requirement of red decals on a young driver’s license plate in order to reduce the risk of discrimination and prejudice of new drivers.
We will persuade policy makers to implement our solution by alerting them of the dangers the sticker element of the law places on young drivers. We will tell them about how the sticker targets young drivers as others know that a young driver is behind the wheel. Additionally, we will warn them about what will continue to happen and what could happen if they do not abolish the decal of the law (predators attacking and stalking young drivers, police unfairly targeting young drivers, teenage drivers being bumped by other cars on the highway, etc). The policymaker’s priority should be to listen to public opinion and the ensuring the safety of young Americans be one of the main goals. Finally, we will tell policymakers about other opponents of Kyleigh’s law and show them the various Facebook pages and other groups that were made as a negative response to Kyleigh’s law.
We can ask teens, their parents, and other citizens to sign a petition in order to influence policy makers to make changes to a dominant yet flawed law in the state of New Jersey.