My mom is on the post-prom committee at my school. They weren't sure how the curfew law would affect post-prom since the law says that anyone under 18 cannot be driving after 10pm on weekdays and 11pm on weekends. So they took their inquiry to the school officer. He wasn't exactly sure, because the law was only put into effect on January 1st. So he went to the police station to see what the specific rules for the law were. They weren't sure either, so they asked the secretary of state's office. They were a little fuzzy as well, so they asked the actual State Senators and Representatives. They cleared up the issue and got back to our resource officer. What he reported to the post-prom committee shocked many parents, and when my mom told me I was outraged.
The law states that anyone under the age of 18 that is pulled over while driving after the hours of 10pm on weekdays and 11pm on weekends, not returning from work or a school related activity, is considered to be someone driving without a license. This means that offenders pulled over will have to go to trial and will face up to ONE YEAR IN JAIL. Now, to me, this seems like an extremely harsh punishment for a very minor crime. I know that teen automobile fatalities are high, but this seems rediculous. And what makes it worse is that they told our resource officer that the law allows police officers to pull over anyone that they even suspect to be under 18. This is a serious injustice. I do not understand how they can have such unreasonable punishments for seemingly harmless crimes, and to be able to pull someone over because they look young. And what is worse, they don't even inform the teens that it affects. I, nor any of my peers, were aware of this absurd law.
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