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Study: New N.J. Teen Driving Rules Succeeding In Protecting Drivers

TRENTON, N.J. (CBSNewYork) - There is good news about New Jersey's latest efforts to keep its young drivers safe on the roads.

WCBS 880's Levon Putney On The Story

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The little red stickers on New Jersey license plates are just part of the new teen Graduated Driver License laws in the state. They also include setting 11 p.m. driving curfews, cell phone bans and limits on the number of passengers.

All of it has added up to 1,600 fewer teen driving accidents in the first year alone, according to a new study done by the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"It means that drivers are paying more attention, GDL drivers are following the laws, and they're being safe and more responsible, and law enforcement is able to identify them when they're going beyond the parameters of the GDL," New Jersey AAA spokesperson Cathleen Lewis told WCBS 880 reporter Levon Putney.

She also praised the red stickers that indicate the driver is a minor, which are part of Kyleigh's Law.

"Those stickers really help law enforcement and it also makes teens aware that they have to follow those laws because law enforcement can now find them," she said.

She said she now wants a bill passed calling for a parent-teen driver orientation class and more practice hours.

"And practice hours are just when you're with an adult," she added. That's usually driving to or from school or around the neighborhood.

The Assembly has approved the measure and the Senate is now considering it.

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