Most drivers can spot a cop car from a mile away. That’s plenty of time to stash your cellphone or lower your speed—which is why many departments have started to use other tactics to catch people breaking the law or driving dangerously. For example, some state troopers in Tennessee have started patrolling in a tractor-trailer, making it easier for them to see who’s texting and making them less visible to drivers.
In Maryland, an officer has disguised himself as homeless and stood at an intersection with a radio to let other officers up the road know who is texting. Some towns have even increased the number of bike cops, who can easily zip around and find drivers who are texting at stoplights.
It is widely known how dangerous texting is, and even with these increased efforts, the police are fighting an uphill battle. Many officers report that when they ticket someone for texting and they tell that person how dangerous it is to text while driving, the person agrees, but still does not change their behavior.
Texting is responsible for more than three thousand deaths in the US, and those numbers could actually be much higher, as people are often reluctant to tell officers that they were on their phones when an accident occurred. Unlike drunk drivers, who can easily be identified with a blood test or Breathalyzer, phone-distracted drivers have to self-report or the officer has to obtain a search warrant for the cellphone.
Currently, fourteen states have laws against cellphone use of any kind while driving, and even while more states are planning on adopting this laws, the problem, according to police departments around the country, is only getting worse and worse.
