Sadly, motor-vehicle accidents claim the lives of thousands of young drivers every year in the United States, with driver distraction a major contributing factor. In response, New Jersey became the first state to enact a vehicle decal requirement for young drivers by passing Kyleigh’s Law, which became effective on May 1, 2010.

The red stickers should increase the ability of police officers to monitor young drivers made more conspicuous on the roads. Older drivers will also know to be on alert for inexperienced car maneuvering. In addition to the new decal requirement, Kyleigh’s Law imposes tougher driving restrictions on young permit and probationary license holders in an effort to reduce the number of New Jersey accidents involving teens.

Under the New Jersey Graduated Driver’s License law and Kyleigh’s Law, a driver under the age of 21 with a special learners permit, examination permit or probationary (formerly provisional) driver’s license:
- May not drive between the hours of 11:01 pm to 5:00 am (before Kyleigh’s Law the start time was midnight)
- Must comply with specific restrictions on the number and nature of passengers, varying depending on the permit or probationary license level
- Are prohibited from using any electronic device (handheld or handsfree) while driving
- Must make sure all vehicle occupants wear seatbelts

Teen drivers will be fined $100 for violations of Kyleigh’s Law, not insignificant for most young drivers’ budgets.

Kyleigh D’Alessio: The Story Behind the Law

On December 21, 2006, a car driven by 17-year-old Tanner Birch left the roadway and crashed into a tree along Fairview Avenue in Long Valley, killing Birch and 16-year-old athlete and honor student Kyleigh D’Alessio. The crash seriously injured two other young passengers, but they have since recovered.

Birch only possessed a provisional driver’s license (now called a probationary driver’s license) at the time of the accident. In violation of provisional license restrictions, Tanner had three friends riding with him. Some believe that the increased driver distraction probably contributed to the accident.

Following the horrific loss of yet another teenager on a New Jersey road, lawmakers, law-enforcement officers, community members and Kyleigh’s family and friends reinforced the push to do more to protect young drivers. Out of this tragedy came their determination to enact Kyleigh’s Law.

Risks Associated With Young Drivers in New Jersey

On average automobile accidents claim the lives of 6,000 teens and injure approximately 300,000 more every year, according to the New Jersey Teen Driver Study Commission. In 2008 alone, 56,962 teens were involved in car crashes in New Jersey – one crash every ten minutes. Although teen drivers represent only six percent of licensed drivers in New Jersey, they are involved in 13 percent of car accidents in the state. Many people believe that the state must impose additional limitations on young drivers to reduce these risks.

Supporters Argue That Greater Protections Will Save Lives

Some of the most common causes of young-driver accidents, according the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, include overconfidence, distraction, inexperience, speeding and failure to yield. Supporters of Kyleigh’s Law believe that the red decals and the corresponding increased driving limitations will dramatically reduce the number of deaths and injuries among young people on the road.

Opponents Fear Unlawful Discrimination Against Young Drivers

There is a strong and growing movement of New Jersey residents that think, while Kyleigh’s Law is well-intentioned, it creates more problems than it solves. Opponents of Kyleigh’s Law believe that:
- The law helps facilitate young driver profiling and unjustified discrimination by law enforcement, subjecting youth to more scrutiny and traffic stops just because of their age and not because of their actions.
- The law imposes additional and unreasonable restrictions on an entire group, regardless of any consideration of actual conduct.
- The sticker requirement may unreasonably attract the attention of predators looking to prey on the vulnerabilities of young men and women, the very people the bill was designed to protect.

A number of lawyers have filed lawsuits challenging the bill’s constitutionality. At least one New Jersey trial court judge has dismissed such a challenge to Kyleigh’s law. Judge Robert Brennan of the Morristown Superior Court found the law constitutional and an appropriate state effort to protect the public.

On May 13 while the governor’s ink was barely dry, three New Jersey legislators co-sponsored a bill to repeal the decal requirement. All other parts of the Kyleigh’s Law would remain in effect. Co-sponsor Sean Kean (R-11) said in The Two River Times that many of his constituents vocally oppose the decal and report young drivers have already been harassed. Apparently there is a movement among parents not to require their children to display the decals and take their chances on being fined.

Time Will Tell

While protecting young drivers from car accidents is a good goal, there are many opinions on how to accomplish it. As of May 1, 2010, Kyleigh’s Law is the law in New Jersey. Whether the red-sticker requirement will survive remains to be seen.

Article provided by Drazin and Warshaw, P.C.
Visit us at www.drazinandwarshaw.com

On May 4, 2010, in Kingsport, Tenn., a licensed nurse was indicted by a grand jury and arrested for stealing patients’ prescription narcotics from the nursing home where she was employed.

The nurse, Summer Brook Lane, 33, worked briefly at the Holston Manor Nursing Home in Kingsport during the summer of 2009. Her crime was discovered when an officer in southwest Virginia made a traffic stop on her vehicle. The officer located narcotics in Lane’s car that were not prescribed to her. The officer was able to trace the drugs to the nursing home where Lane was working in Kingsport.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigations was notified and they assigned their Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to investigate the crime. The investigators found that Summer Lane had been taking the prescription narcotics that were intended to be distributed to patients at the Holston Manor Nursing Home. She was indicted by a grand jury for one count of abuse, neglect or exploitation of a dependent adult; obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, deceit or theft; and theft of property under $500.

Theft is one form of abuse in American nursing homes, but many other types of abuses occur regularly. A 2007 survey indicated that 420,000 people in America live in nursing homes. With so many elderly patients dependent on nursing homes for their care, it puts them in a precarious position to be mistreated and abused by those who are paid to look after them.

Other types of abuse that occur in nursing homes include theft of patients personal property, lack of proper medical care, failure to provide safe and adequate care, and physical abuse and neglect.

These different types of abuse are horrible for the patients to experience and can sometimes be difficult to recognize and prove. For some of the patients, once they are admitted to the nursing home, they receive very limited, if any, visitation from family and friends.

If you notice that a patient’s personal belongings are disappearing, do not disregard it. Contact the nursing home administration to let them know what is going on. If you notice bed sores or bruises on the patient, it is important to act immediately. A person who truly knows the nursing home patient is the patient’s best ally. You can contact the nursing home administrator or police if necessary to investigate any allegations of theft, abuse or neglect.

The nursing home patient should not be left in dirty adult diapers, and should be bathed and fed regularly. If the patient is telling you that someone is being mean or mistreating him or her in any way, take it seriously.

The vast majority of nurses and health care workers in nursing homes are terrific people who have the patients’ care as their top priority. Nursing home workers are often paid low wages for doing a very difficult job. Their job is actually made easier by concerned friends and family taking an active role in the care and well-being of the nursing home patient.

Article provided by Locklin & Mordhorst
Visit us at www.locklinlaw.com

 Late spring and early summer is a good time for drivers to remind themselves that they share the road with motorcycles. They need to patiently proceed at intersections and be aware of blind spots. Just as important, motorcyclists must renew their dedication to driving smartly and defensively. Ridership is on the increase: recreational riders hit the open road on weekends to enjoy the countryside, and frugal commuters have plenty of incentive to brave traffic on anything from a Harley to a Vespa or moped. Any effort to reduce motorcycle accidents will pay dividends by helping some families avoid the heartache that follows a serious injury or fatal crash.

The Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF), an industry sponsored group, designates May as Motorcycle Awareness Month to promote basic rules that riders can follow to lessen the chance that they will be involved in an accident:
- Get properly trained and licensed. The MSF reports that only half of riders ever attend a certified safety course, and some never bother to get a motorcycle endorsement on their drivers license. Even experienced riders should take the time to brush up on skills such as countersteering and emergency stopping on a closed course.
- Always wear the right protective gear. Riders are encouraged to use a helmet and eye protection, and make sure to don a heavy jacket, full length pants and high boots even for short rides. When you are secure and well protected, you can better focus your attention on road hazards.
- Never use alcohol or other drugs. Studies have shown that almost half of fatal motorcycle crashes involved a rider who had been drinking, and a blood-alcohol content greater than 0.05 percent – below legal levels for adult riders in all states – multiplies the risk of an accident forty times. The margin for error is razor thin, and there is no substitute for sober reflexes.
- Obey traffic laws and never exceed your skill limits. Even relatively small motorcycles accelerate much more quickly than cars, and the fastest can break the law with a flick of the wrist. A reckless impulse can lead to death in seconds when a rider misses a curve, runs a light or fails to notice a patch of gravel or other hazardous road condition.

But even the safest rider on the road faces risks beyond his or her control. When motorcycles collide with or are struck by other motor vehicles driven by people who never saw them, the laws of physics put riders at a distinct disadvantage. When a car, van or truck driver’s negligence or recklessness causes an accident, the responsibility lies squarely on their shoulders, but issues such as whether or not the rider was wearing a helmet can complicate the legal recovery process.

Safety and the Law: What Should Motorcycle Riders Know?

Only three states – Illinois, Iowa and New Hampshire – currently have no helmet laws on the books. But many others, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky, don’t require helmets for experienced adult riders. Debates about the need for and effect of helmet laws have raged since helmet use was first included in federal funding mandates in 1967, and many states have enacted and repealed restrictions accordingly. But in a majority of the states, most adults still have every right to ride with the wind in their hair.

Motorcycle accident lawsuits involve a variety of factors, including weather, equipment failures, distracted drivers, intoxication and road conditions, but far too many can be summed up in one statement by the other driver: “I just did not see the motorcycle.” When a motor vehicle merges too quickly, lurches into an intersection or follows a motorcycle too closely, the results can be devastating.

If the result is severe road rash, multiple broken bones or paralysis, the rider will need intensive medical treatment for months or years to deal with the pain, trauma and disability. If the damage is fatal, surviving family members may need to engage an experienced attorney for a full explanation of their rights and legal options regarding a wrongful death action.

Highway safety is every driver’s responsibility. When precaution is not enough, personal injury litigation can be a rider’s first step to restoring the balance.

Article provided by Rittgers & Rittgers
Visit us at www.rittgersinjurylaw.com