Sheriff Donald J. Hill and the Polk County Sheriff’s Office started a new program for young drivers 18 and younger. This program is to encourage young drivers to accept the responsibilities of being drivers on the roads and also helps parents to have knowledge of when their teenagers are involved in a traffic stop or much worse, an accident.
The Teen Drive Crash report of Congress in 2008 stated that teen drivers have a higher propensity for risk taking behaviors than do older and more experienced drivers. This is because of the immaturity and inexperience of the younger drivers. Not all young drivers are bad drivers but they do have a higher likelihood of being distracted than older drivers.
The program is called S.T.O.P.P.E.D (Sheriff Telling Our Parents and Promoting Educated Drivers).
Parents will register with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office any vehicle that will be operated by any driver 18 years old and younger.
An identification decal is issued and affixed to the lower left corner of the rear window of each registered vehicle.
If for any reason the registered vehicle, when operated by a driver 18 years old or younger is stopped by a Polk County Sheriff’s Officers, the officer will complete a notification card providing the following information:
• Time and location of the stop
• Driver’s name and number of occupants
• Reason for stop
• Whether any traffic tickets were issued
Parents will be notified concerning these details to enable you to enforce any parent’s rules that often co-exist with teenage driving privileges.
For more information and registration go to www.polkncsheriff.com or call the Polk County Sheriff’s Office at 828-894-3001.