Kalamazoo Area Parents Can Receive Texts When Teens Drive Bad

A parental notification system has been developed for our state by the Michigan Sheriffs' Association (MSA). The goal of STOPPED (Sheriffs Telling Our Parents and Promoting Educated Drivers) is to reduce the number of young drivers who are involved in motor vehicle crashes each year.

Parents can voluntarily register their vehicles with MSA online. They may register any vehicle; car, boat, ORV, moped, or motorcycle that will be operated by a driver under the age of 21. 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.

If, for any reason, the vehicle is pulled over by a participating law enforcement agency while a driver under 21 is driving, a text or e-mail notification will be sent to the registered owner of the vehicle. The notification includes the time and location of the stop, the driver’s name and number of passengers in the vehicle, the reason for the stop and whether or not any citations were issued. A driver’s license is one of the most visible symbols of a child’s progression into adulthood. However, bad habits are difficult to change once set.

To sign up for this free and valuable tool, CLICK HERE.

More on the dangers of teen driving:

• Teen driver statistics are dire. According to research conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 16- to 17-year old drivers are nine times more likely to be involved in a crash than adults and six times more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than adults. In 2015 1,886 young drivers ages 15 to 20 years old died in motor vehicle crashes, an increase of 9 percent from 2014.

• In addition, an estimated 195,000 teen drivers were injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2015, an increase of 14 percent from 2014. These teen driver statistics do not include deaths and injuries to passengers of teen drivers, those in other cars, bicyclists, and pedestrians.

• The risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among 16-to 19-year-olds than among any other age group.

• The overwhelming majority (75 percent) of serious teen driver crashes are due to "critical errors," with the three common errors accounting for nearly half of these crashes: lack of scanning that is needed to detect and respond to hazards, going too fast for road conditions, and being distracted by something inside or outside of the vehicle.