Traffic and Parking Regulations 2011 - 2012

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4. PARKING REGULATIONS

4.1 Parking zone restrictions will be enforced from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and on Saturdays when Saturday is a designated class day.

4.2 Parking permits must be properly displayed twenty-four (24) hours a day.

4.3 No Parking zones include service zones, fire lanes, fire hydrants, handicapped parking, handicapped curb cuts, reserved parking, sidewalks/grounds, no parking tow-away zones and obstructing traffic which will be enforced 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

4.4 Vehicles will park only in areas designated and marked as parking areas in such a manner, at such places, and for such time as indicated herein and on signs. Signs supersede these written regulations.

4.5 No vehicle will park in any area on the campus in excess of posted time limits.

4.6 No vehicle shall be parked on or outside visibly marked parking lanes.

4.7 No vehicle shall be parked facing the flow of traffic.

4.8 Metered parking will be available to everyone without restrictions, provided the meter fee is paid.

4.9 University vehicles are not permitted to park in handicapped spaces, curb cuts, fire lanes, near fire hydrants, no parking tow-away zones and meter parking.

5. DRIVING RULES AND REGULATIONS

In addition to the traffic laws of the state of Mississippi, the following university regulations are enforced by the University Police Department on the Hattiesburg campus. A citation issued for a traffic violation will include a $75 fine with the exception of noise violation, which will carry a $100 fine.

5.1 Stop Signs: A vehicle shall come to a complete halt at stop signs and remain stationary until it is safe to proceed.

5.2 Reckless Endangerment: No vehicle shall be operated in any manner that endangers the life or safety of the driver, passengers, pedestrians or others.

5.3 Speed Limit: The maximum speed limit is 20 miles per hour, except in areas with lower limits posted.

5.4 Yield: Vehicles will yield to other vehicles having right-of-way.

5.5 Directing Traffic: Vehicle operators must obey the lawful directions of a university police officer.

5.6 One-Way Streets: Vehicles will be operated only in the direction indicated by one-way signs, unless directed to do otherwise by a university police officer.

5.7 Driving Areas: Vehicles will be driven only on streets designated for that purpose. Driving and parking is not permitted on areas designated for pedestrians or on lawn areas, unless directed to do so by a university police officer.

5.8 Barricades: Vehicles will observe barricade instructions, unless directed otherwise by a university police officer.

5.9 Pedestrian Crosswalks: Vehicles will yield to pedestrians in marked crosswalks.

5.10 Bicycle Traffic: Vehicle operators will share the roadways with bicycle operators and respect their rights to roadway access.

5.11 Noise: Vehicle operators will observe the university’s noise ordinance. Public address will be by permit only.

5.12 U-turns: U-turns are not permitted on university streets unless directed by a university police officer.

5.13 Transportation Means: Skates, skateboards and in-line skates may be used on the campus as a means of transportation. They will not be operated on streets except while crossing. They will not be operated in a careless, dangerous or reckless manner.

5.14 Bicycle Operators: Bicycles will be operated on streets (when available) moving in the same direction as the flow of vehicular traffic. Obey the rules of the road for bicycles. When only pedestrian areas are available, proceed slowly, yielding to pedestrians.

5.15 Small Vehicles: Vehicle operators will exercise caution when encountering small vehicles on university streets. Small vehicle operators will exercise caution and yield to pedestrians when on and off streets.

6. HEARING AND APPEALS PROCEDURE

6.1 Faculty/staff and students are preferably asked to submit all appeals online at www.usm.edu/parking.

6.2 Any individual receiving a parking or traffic citation may request a hearing regarding the citation. Students shall have a hearing before a student judicial board. Faculty and staff members shall have a hearing before a staff board. The following reasons are NOT acceptable grounds for dismissing a parking or traffic citation:
a.    Ignorance of regulations
b.    Inability to find a legal parking space
c.    No space available
d.    Inclement weather
e.    Late for class
f.    Improperly displayed decal
g.    Failure to purchase a decal
h.    Permit used by another person
i.    Not displaying a decal

6.3 Requests for a parking violation hearing must be made within ten (10) working days of issuance of the citation. Student hearings will be held weekly on Tuesdays during fall and spring semesters. During the summer semester, student hearings will be held once a month on the third Wednesday. Faculty and staff hearings will be held on the third Tuesday of each month that school is in session full-time. The time and place of the hearing is available through the Department of Parking Management online. The board(s) may make a decision based upon the written request with or without the presence of the alleged violator. The ruling of the board(s) may be appealed to the Parking Management Committee in writing within ten (10) working days from the decision of the board(s). The decision from the Parking Management Committee is final.

6.4 A person requesting a hearing may be present at his or her parking violation hearing and may present information as permitted by the board(s) regarding the citation:
a. Parking violations “Request for Hearing” cases where the alleged violator wishes to be present are decided by the board(s) at the hearing.
b. A diagram or other pertinent information describing details concerning the citation may be submitted to the Department of Parking Management Office.
c. Tickets are considered pending during the parking violation hearing process.
d. The board(s) will hear the matter and render a decision. The board(s) may
(1) find that a parking violation occurred and impose the appropriate penalty;
(2) find that no parking violation occurred and dismiss the citation; or
(3) suspend half or all of the fine imposed as a result of a finding of fact in the hearing.

6.5 The decision of the board(s) is transmitted to the alleged violator at the address supplied online.

7. PENALTIES

7.1 All parking violations carry an administrative penalty of twenty-five dollars ($25), fifty dollars ($50), one hundred dollars ($100), one hundred twenty five dollars ($125), one hundred fifty dollars ($150), and two hundred dollars ($200) (See penalties Section 7, subparagraph 7.12).

7.2 7.2 After the second violation of any traffic regulation within a school year, the penalty for each subsequent violation is double the original penalty with the exception of handicap. Handicap will increase to the maximum penalty fee of $500.

7.3 Altered or obliterated parking permits will be voided and no refund will be allowed. It will be necessary to purchase a new parking permit.

7.4 Any person falsifying a permit/handicapped placard or who uses a lost, stolen or fraudulent permit will be subject to doubling of the fine and towing fee, a two-hundred-dollar ($200) penalty and referred to the Dean of Students Office for disciplinary action.

7.5 Any Southern Miss employee or student who allows the use of a reported lost/stolen parking permit will be subject to a two-hundred-dollar ($200) penalty.

7.6 After ten (10) working days from the beginning of each semester, Southern Miss will charge a five-dollar ($5) late fee for vehicle registration.

7.7 Violators who have a vehicle booted will be assessed a seventy-five-dollar ($75) boot fee. Violators who have a vehicle towed will be assessed a one-hundred-dollar ($100) tow fee. Violators who have a motorcycle towed will be assessed a seventy-dollar ($70) tow fee. Violators who have a bicycle cut removal or impoundment will be assessed a twenty-five dollar ($25) fee. In addition, a ten dollar ($10) per day storage fee will be assessed while the vehicle is in storage.

7.8 The unauthorized removal of a boot or vehicle from the impound yard will subject the registered owner/driver to a two-hundred-dollar ($200) fine plus restoration for any damage to DPM property and referral to the Dean of Students Office for disciplinary action.

7.9 Within the current week, outstanding parking tickets or traffic tickets can be paid at the Department of Parking Management or online. Boots, tows and storage fees will be paid at the Department of Parking Management Office in Room 152 of McLemore Hall during regular office hours, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m., or by mail to the Department of Parking Management, 118 College Drive #5149, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001. After normal business hours, boots, tows and storage fees will be paid at the University Police Department in Bond Hall (first floor, west end). It is the responsibility of the student, faculty or staff member to make sure all fines are paid at the end of each semester.

7.10 All outstanding fines will be transferred the following week to the Business Office for payment. Parking penalties will be paid by mail or in the Business Office in Room 101, Forrest County Hall, during office hours (8:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.), Monday through Friday. The mailing address is 118 College Drive #5133, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001.

7.11 Faculty/staff and students who do not pay outstanding penalties will have such penalties withheld from their pay or applied to the student’s account.

7.12 Penalties:

8. ENACTMENT AND PUBLICATIONS

8.1 The rules and regulations herein promulgated shall become effective only after notice of enactment of the same has been published in three consecutive issues of the university newspaper and in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county and municipality where The University of Southern Mississippi is located. Such notice shall state where the full text of such rules and regulations may be found on file. In addition, such rules and regulations shall be posted on five bulletin boards at the university for a period of four weeks after their promulgation. (Reference State Code 37-105-1)

8.2 These rules and regulations are enacted by the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning, state of Mississippi, and effective from and after August 15, 2011.