Marquette, MI – (Great Lakes Radio News) – The word is getting out about updates to a statewide parental notification system which was developed by the Michigan Sheriff’s Association to reduce the number of young drivers who are involved in motor vehicle crashes each year.
Marquette County Sheriff Greg Zyburt and Deputy Dave Dechambeau joined the Sunny Morning Show today to to talk about the program known as STOPPED, which is an acronym for Sheriffs Telling Our Parents and Promoting Educated Drivers.
Zyburt explained that the program has been around for about 10 years, but notifications were sent through the U.S. Mail and they took a couple of weeks to make it to parents.
He said the program is now updating it’s service to email and/or text notifications to parents, which get them distributed at a much faster rate.
Dechambeau said parents can voluntarily register any vehicle that will be operated by a driver under 21, and then an identification decal is issued by MSA and affixed to the top left corner of the rear windshield of the vehicle where it serves as a constant reminder to the teen to always drive as if his/her parents are in the car.
He added that the decal allows for, if for any reason, the vehicle is pulled over by a participating law enforcement agency while a driver under 21 is driving, a notification is sent to the registered owner of the vehicle.
VISIT – The Michigan Sheriff’s Association website to sign up for the STOPPED program.
