HOW DO COPS KNOW IF YOU’RE TEXTING AND DRIVING?

Say that you’re driving down the road, and you hear a beep. A text message has come in. You want to check it, you probably will check it, but then you remember that laws are in place to keep people from doing just that. Then you wonder, Will I get caught? How do cops know if you’re texting and driving anyway? Well, we at Robbins Chevy are here to tell you, they have their ways.

Overpass spotters. Many urban areas have have funds allocated to use spotters on overpasses, and it’s exactly what it sounds like. An officer will camp out on an overpass looking for texters, then will radio an officer further down the road who makes the traffic stop. These began last fall in Connecticut, and have been gaining in frequency nationwide.

How cops know you’re textingCellphone records. Generally speaking, cell records aren’t retrieved unless it’s in the unfortunate situation where there’s an accident, and where there has been an injury or a fatality. Cellphone records not only can indicate if a driver has been texting or was on the phone, but also if a person was using the internet or social media as well.

Your own body language. If you pull up next to someone and they’re staring intently downward while a green glow illuminates their face, you’ve probably got a pretty good idea what they’re doing. They’re texting, duh! Cops know this too, and there have been reports of times where an officer trailed a person with lights flashing for up to a mile before a person realized that they were in trouble.

A text radar gun. Although this is still a few years out, this technology might be on the horizon. A company from Virginia called ComSonics is developing a product that can detect the unique frequencies that come from text messaging, and is advanced enough to differentiate this frequency from those associated with regular phone calls or streaming internet usage. A major problem with this technology, however, is proving that it was the driver who was texting.

“Operation Hobo Cop.” This stuff can’t be made up. Cops in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Ontario really went the extra mile to find texters: the dressed as panhandlers, and camped out on corners to catch drivers who were texting. They even wrote their warnings on one side of their cardboard signs, and wrote tickets to drivers caught texting.

We at Robbins Chevy certainly hope that you don’t text and drive, but if you do, be aware that eyes are always watching!

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