2008 Woodie Awards
Campus Safety: parking permits are important to maintaining a safe community
Neal Fassbender
Issue date: 10/27/06 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
There are many aspects to having a safe campus environment. One important element of campus safety is being able to monitor who comes and goes; however, it is also very difficult to enforce. The Prescott ERAU campus covers 540 acres with three entrances and public access to the library. Essentially, this is an open campus with a lot of area to patrol.
One of the best and most cost effective ways to successfully keep this safety issue under control is to register the vehicles of those associated with the university. Highly visible parking permits allow the safety department to determine which vehicles belong on campus. The sticker must be visible at night and under all weather conditions so that safety officers can quickly identify authorized vehicles from a distance; hence, the reason that they are now placed on the outside of the window.
The color coded stickers help safety officers to recognize which vehicles are allowed to park in the various lots. For instance, since residential parking spaces for students living on campus can often be hard to find, those who live off-campus are not allowed to park in residential lots.
In addition, vehicle registration also ensures that our students, staff, and faculty members have current insurance and a current driver's license. This affects the insurance rates for Embry-Riddle and also guarantees that each person registered is in compliance with state laws of Arizona. This is important for students should they be stopped for a traffic violation.
Every now and then complaints arise from students that the local police departments are targeting them because of the ERAU sticker on their vehicle. Chief Boden, who has numerous years in law enforcement, has been assured by the Tri-City law enforcement agencies that there is never profiling or targeting of Embry-Riddle students. Under no circumstances does this take place in our community.
The safety department thanks the majority of people on campus who have registered their vehicles. However, we strongly advise those who are not in compliance with this policy to get registered! As a reminder, when driving keep in mind that Arizona is environmentally diverse; weather and road conditions change in a hurry, especially during the winter. Please be careful, slow down as needed, and do not take any unnecessary risks while on the road.
One of the best and most cost effective ways to successfully keep this safety issue under control is to register the vehicles of those associated with the university. Highly visible parking permits allow the safety department to determine which vehicles belong on campus. The sticker must be visible at night and under all weather conditions so that safety officers can quickly identify authorized vehicles from a distance; hence, the reason that they are now placed on the outside of the window.
The color coded stickers help safety officers to recognize which vehicles are allowed to park in the various lots. For instance, since residential parking spaces for students living on campus can often be hard to find, those who live off-campus are not allowed to park in residential lots.
In addition, vehicle registration also ensures that our students, staff, and faculty members have current insurance and a current driver's license. This affects the insurance rates for Embry-Riddle and also guarantees that each person registered is in compliance with state laws of Arizona. This is important for students should they be stopped for a traffic violation.
Every now and then complaints arise from students that the local police departments are targeting them because of the ERAU sticker on their vehicle. Chief Boden, who has numerous years in law enforcement, has been assured by the Tri-City law enforcement agencies that there is never profiling or targeting of Embry-Riddle students. Under no circumstances does this take place in our community.
The safety department thanks the majority of people on campus who have registered their vehicles. However, we strongly advise those who are not in compliance with this policy to get registered! As a reminder, when driving keep in mind that Arizona is environmentally diverse; weather and road conditions change in a hurry, especially during the winter. Please be careful, slow down as needed, and do not take any unnecessary risks while on the road.
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