Craig Jaccuzzo, director of University Police, cleared up several rumors this week about traffic and parking violations.During the first three days of school, there were about 450 citations given for parking violations, and about 50 citations given for speeding and stop sign violations.
Jaccuzzo said that during the first few days of school, there is often some confusion as to what is a violation.
Speed citations are given by officers on campus who monitor the speed of vehicles with Stalker radar guns. Officers have handheld radar guns as well as radar guns installed in the units. The radar guns are recalibrated annually to ensure that they are working correctly.
There was a rumor that officers had their radar guns taken away because they were “bird watching,” but Jaccuzzo said that is definitely inaccurate.
“I don’t know how you could radar a bird, but the only person who can take radar away is me, and I haven’t,” Jaccuzzo said.
“Last year pedestrians were hit for different reasons, so now we’ve increased our enforcement on that,” Jaccuzzo said.
Vehicles driving on campus are also expected to yield to pedestrians on a crosswalk. Vehicles are not expected to stop, however, if there are no pedestrians waiting to cross.
“We also have cameras in our vehicles so there is an audio and video recording of what takes place in any traffic-stop,” Jaccuzzo said.
There was a rumor that a state trooper is on campus giving out tickets.
“We handle all incidents on campus,” Jaccuzzo said. “We work for the state police, and we are commissioned through the state police, but no one is responsible for law enforcement functions at Nicholls but us.”
Jaccuzzo said that state troopers may be attending school. He said that there are a couple of troopers and deputies from Terrebonne Parish that attend Nicholls, and they drive to Nicholls in their units.
“Sometimes students see our uniform and think we might be troopers since we have a boot sleeve that matches, but it’s Nicholls,” Jaccuzzo said.
Students and faculty can distinguish University Police from other law enforcement in the area because University police officers have a gold stripe on their pant legs.
Students can also get citations for parking on Bowie Road. Citations can be given when cars park against traffic or in areas where there are signs that say “no parking.”
There is also no parking beyond the shoulder because it is Nicholls property and the University does not want anyone on the grass.
“The property is low lying and soft, so it is very easy for those cars to get stuck,” Jaccuzzo said.
Nicholls also has construction in that area because of the recreation center.
“We have also had to issue tickets to vehicles that have blocked the portable driveways that are laid for the contractors,” Jaccuzzo said.
“Last year I wanted people to start being more cautious on Bowie Road because when the new recreation center opens, we will have a lot of foot traffic from the University,” Jaccuzzo said.
Some students have also complained about tickets for parking violations that they did not realize were in the Parking Manual.
Jaccuzzo said that he granted appeals for any citations that were given by mistake.
For example, vehicles can be parked in a backed-in position in parking lots, but not on the street.
The reason vehicles are not allowed to park in a backed-in position on the street is because it causes traffic when a vehicle stops to try to back into a space. Also, when vehicles try to park diagonally, it causes problems for the next vehicle to pull in.
Anyone with questions or concerns may contact University Police at 448-4746.
