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Decal gives parents new tool to keep young
drivers in check
By SAMANTHA PERRY
Bluefield Daily
Telegraph
PRINCETON — Mercer County parents have a new tool
available to help keep young drivers safe and in check.
The county is the first in West Virginia to offer the STOPPED program,
which uses a window decal imprinted with a registration number to alert
parents and grandparents of driving infractions of those under age 21,
Mercer County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy D.B. Bailey said.
STOPPED is an acronym for “Sheriffs Telling Our Parents and Promoting
Educated Drivers.” The voluntary and free program is designed to reduce
the number of accidents involving young drivers, according to information
provided by Mercer County Sheriff Danny R. Wills, who announced the
implementation of the program this week.
“A parent can register a vehicle with the sheriff’s department, and when
they do they will be given a STOPPED sticker that is sequentially
numbered,” Bailey said, in explaining how the program works. “It will be
placed in the vehicle’s front window below the tint line in the top left
corner above the steering wheel ... If we happen to stop a vehicle that
has the STOPPED sticker attached, we will notify the parents by mail of
the reason the vehicle was stopped, who was driving the car, the number
of occupants in the car and whether there was a citation issued.”
The West Virginia State Police, Bluefield Police Department and Princeton
Police Department will be supporting the sheriff’s department with this
program.
Bailey said an additional goal of the program is to give parents who are
the registered owners of vehicles being driven by youth an added “measure
of security.”
If a teen is stopped by law enforcement and given a verbal warning, he
said parents would be unaware of the situation unless the youth told them.
“And a lot of times kids will get a ticket and either pay it, or get
their friends to help them pay it, and the parents won’t even know about
the citation until the insurance is affected.”
Through the STOPPED program, parents could potentially pay lower
insurance rates, he said. “Insurance companies are real excited about it.
There is a possibility some, not all, may offer a reduced rate” for those
in the program.
According to information provided by Wills, motor vehicle accidents are
the No. 1 cause of death nationwide for those between the ages of 15 to
20. “Mercer
County mirrors
national statistics and witnessed two fatal accidents and 174 serious
injuries in a total of 685 crashes in that age group during the year
2005,” the information notes.
For teens and young adults, driving a vehicle bearing a STOPPED sticker
“it is a reminder to them to be careful,” Bailey said.
Brochures explaining the STOPPED program, which include a registration
form, are currently available at the Mercer County Sheriff’s Department,
and interested parents are invited to stop by and sign up.
Bailey said the STOPPED program is being funded by a grant from the
Community Foundation of the Virginias, Inc., and a percentage of the
county’s concealed weapons permit fund.
— Contact Samantha Perry at sperry@bdtonline.com
Registration Information
To register your vehicle click here to download the
registration form and mail to :
Mercer County Sheriff’s Office
1501 West Main Street
Princeton, West
Virginia 24740
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