Malone bill signed into law

Gov. Jon Corzine visited Marlboro High School, Marlboro, on March 14 for a public signing of a bill to study teen driving safety.

The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Ellen Karcher (D-Monmouth and Mercer) and state Assemblymen Joseph Malone (D-Ocean, Monmouth, Mercer and Burlington) and John Wisniewski (D-Middlesex) will create a study commission to look into issues related to teenage driver safety and then make recommendations for action to the Legis-lature.

The bill was officially signed into law last week by Corzine.

"In light of the tragedies that have affected all of our lives, I believe that this commission, which is a follow-up to the graduated driver law, will help us to identify critical teen driving safety issues that need to be addressed to keep our roads safe and to protect our children," Malone said. "Hopefully the work of this commission will save lives."

According to a press release from Malone's office, the bill, A-617, will establish a 15-member study commission, the Teenage Driver Safety Study Commis-sion, to examine and review the issue of teenage driver safety in New Jersey. The commission is to complete its work within six months and issue a report with its findings and recommendations.

The commission is to study and evaluate the availability and effectiveness of driving education and training programs for New Jersey's teenagers as well as analyzing the types of motor vehicle violations that are contributing factors in teenage driving accidents.

"We know there is a high rate of traffic fatalities involving teen drivers," Malone said. "If we can identify the ways in which our current driving laws are failing to lower that risk, we can propose solutions that will hopefully make our roads safer."