Crime & Safety

High School Parking Tickets for Red Stickers Irks Parents

The NJ graduated driver's license program mandates that under-18 motorists affix red stickers onto vehicles they operate.

A number of Jefferson Township High School students wound up being ticketed in the school parking lot Friday to the consternation of some parents. But Jefferson Township Police say that officers are merely enforcing state law.

"On the morning of Friday, Oct. 3, one of my patrol officers was performing a traffic detail at the high school and observed numerous vehicles that were being operated by teenage drivers without the required red stickers as required under New Jersey’s graduated driver’s license law," Capt. Eric F. Wilsusen told Patch. "We perform a variety of details of this nature, especially details involving the graduated driver’s license requirements such as too many occupants in the vehicle, use of cell phones [and] driving after hours."

According to Wilsusen, seven students were ticketed Friday for failure to display the red sticker.

Find out what's happening in Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Some parents expressed their unhappiness to Patch via email and on the Jefferson Patch Facebook page

"I'm very upset that a Jefferson police officer greeted students with $100 tickets in the school parking lot for no decals," wrote resident Bob Lipala. "He undermined the school resource officers' fine work."

Find out what's happening in Jeffersonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Capt. Wilsusen said he is also aware that some moms and dads are not fans of the graduated driver's license program stipulation that mandates the red stickers.

"I know that many parents disagree with the law and many have refused to place the stickers on the vehicle operated by a graduated licensed driver, but until repealed by the NJ Legislature, it is the law," he said.

And while he said the ticketing may make some feel resentful, which may make work a little more complicated for school resource officers, whose educationally focused work depends on developing positive relationships with students and faculty, Wilsusen said the primary police responsibility is to enforce the law and keep citizens safe.


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