The Michigan Sheriffs’ Association has introduced a new program called the Stopped Program, which allows parents to keep track of their children’s driving for free.

The program informs parents when their children have been pulled over by law enforcement whether the driver receives a ticket or not.

The goal of the program is to reduce the number of young drivers who are killed in car crashes each year.

People who register in the program are given a sticker to place in the car’s windshield. When pulled over, drivers under the age of 21 enrolled in the program will have a letter sent to the parents detailing the reasons for the stop.

According to the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association, “This allows parents to enforce their ‘rules of the road,’ which are often much tougher than those imposed by Michigan’s motor vehicle code.”

Terrence Jungel, the executive director of the Michigan Sheriffs’ Association, brought the program to Michigan and pushed for each county to adopt it. Jungel is confident that this program will save lives.

“The program has nothing to do with not trusting the child,” Jungel said. “Parents trust the child with a car. It’s about verifying that trust and that can be done with the program.”

Jungel continues to explain that a mix of typical adolescent risk-taking behavior paired with inexperience can be a dangerous combination.

“With people between the ages of 16 and 20 accounting for only 10 percent of drivers, they are involved in 25 percent of all accidents,” Jungel said.

The program was recently implemented in Oakland County. Many other police agencies participate in the program.

Ashley Stopes, student at Oakland Universiy, says she does not believe that the program will have any affect at all recognizing that being stopped in the first place poses higher consequences.

“You’ve been stopped, and if you’re ticketed, you’re paying for that,.” she said. “Nothing else is necessary.”

Professor Frances Kranz, special lecturer of writing and rhetoric, sees the program as a service.

“If I were younger, I would definitely see it as an invasion,” said Kranz. “As a parent, thank you, state of Michigan; I appreciate the heads up.”

Other students agree that parents are obliged to such information if they are paying for the car, the insurance, or driving expenses.

With generous funding from American Automotive Association Michigan, the program continues to grow.

The Michigan Sheriffs’ Association is appealing to school boards to make the program mandatory for students who drive to school. Hartland and Pickney high schools in Livingston require students who drive to school to have their vehicles registered in the program.

The Secretary of State has begun to hand out fliers discussing the program to all parents of new drivers.

For more information about the Stopped Program visit www.michigansheriff.com/Stopped