Posted on 09/24/2013 6:57:08 AM PDT by markomalley
Channel 2 Action News has learned one Gwinnett County police officer has given more tickets for texting and driving than any other officer in the state.
Ch. 2’s Amanda Cook spoke with the officer about how drivers are making it so easy for him to give the tickets.
Gwinnett County Police Officer Jessie Myers said if you do anything on your phone besides make or receive a phone call, he will pull you over. He said the most common place to catch you in the act right at traffic lights.
“I’ve written almost 800 tickets for unlawful communications device this year," Myers said..
Myers expects he'll reach 1,000 tickets by year's end.
"Probably not going to be hard for me to do at the pace I'm on," Myers said.
Myer said he sees most people typing away on their phones while waiting at red lights.
"Most people think they're safe there," Myers said.
However, he said it’s still illegal.
"At a red light, you're still driving. according to the law. You're on a roadway, behind (the wheel of) a car, in charge of it, with a vehicle in drive," Myers said.
Myers said most people don't realize you can't access any Internet or web-based data while driving.
"All applications are web-based to some extent, including navigation," Myers said.
One driver said she was just using her phone's GPS. The law forbids that and Myers issued her a ticket.
"That's right. You can't use your navigation while driving. Unless it is a GPS-only device, such as Garmin or Tom Tom, something that is not used as a communication device," Myers said.
The officer told us a little trick he uses: If he can't see your screen directly, he just counts the number of times you touch your screen.
“If it’s beyond 10, they're not making a phone call," Myers said.
Eight hundred tickets later, Myers hopes some drivers have learned phones are for phone calls only.
"This may stop them from picking up their phone five miles down the road or three days from now,” Myers said.
The first at the limit line are usually the first to die after being broadsided by those blowing red lights...
Happens all the time.
If a cop can't see through your tinted windows, that will get you a ticket all by itself in most states.
The window tint law in my state (West Virginia) is max 65% on front windows and any level of tint on back passengers and back glass. (which even at 65% is still dark enough that you can't see in unless you are only a few feet away.) It is legally set by percentage though, it has nothing to do with whether a cop can see you or not.
I used a site that tracks crime in my area. For 240 crimes (arson, burglary, theft, vandalism, assault) there were 40 arrests, for a 17% arrest / crime rate.
Then, let’s get to the arrest / conviction rate. What do you suppose? 50/50? Max.
So if we’re lucky, a perp can go through 12 arsons, burglaries, thefts, assaults, etc. before they are convicted once.
Gee. I guess my experience is typical. All the crimes of which I’ve been a victim have resulted in NO POLICE EFFECTIVENESS WHATSOEVER.
“One driver said she was just using her phone’s GPS. The law forbids that and Myers issued her a ticket.
“That’s right. You can’t use your navigation while driving. Unless it is a GPS-only device, such as Garmin or Tom Tom, something that is not used as a communication device,” Myers said. “
Ok the texting I can understand, but now he’s just being a dick. What, does he own stock in TomTom?
“The officer told us a little trick he uses: If he can’t see your screen directly, he just counts the number of times you touch your screen.
“If it’s beyond 10, they’re not making a phone call,” Myers said. “
His test is flawed. Maybe I’m calling a phone number with an extension, or using a calling card? Maybe I’m pulling up a number in my phonebook... oh wait, I bet “under the letter of the law”, using the phonebook app is illegal.
That is true. The law cannot state "if a cop can't see you," it's too vague. 65% is a pretty good number, you're lucky. The number is usually set so that you can be seen and ticketed for whatever they please...there is no other reason to have a law.
It sounds like you live in a cesspool. I’d strongly consider moving, A.S.A.P.
“It’s worth it to go to court for traffic tickets, 70% of the time you will win.”
It’s only worth it if the ticket is for more than you make in the time you’ll miss from work. I think that’s why the cops rarely show up, because they know most other people can’t afford to show up either.
There’s a woman involved. :-)
All the more reason to move!
I don’t use my phone while driving, but I’d like to point out the one flaw in the LEO’s “10 tap is a phone call” reasoning. I have my phone pass-protected. In order to make a dialed call, I have to enter the PIN (5 taps), open the phone app and select the keypad (2 taps), then dial the number. Minimum of 17 taps right there. I’m not texting. But, the fact that it takes me 17 taps to make a call is why I don’t use my phone while driving!
My experience, was the judge asking the defendant the circumstances as he saw them.
If he ticketed me he had better be prepared to show up in court and swear under oath how he could magically see into up into my SUV from sitting much lower in a patrol car and be able to tell through my tinted windows in the couple seconds he was beside me that I had a phone in my hand as opposed to another dark object such as a wallet or eyeglass case and I was using said phone to text as opposed to simply holding it.
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He will simply recite your confession , “sorry” or “but I was at a stop light!” or whatever fits the bill ,,, doesn’t matter if you said it or not , the $$$ is all that matters.
As someone else pointed out, that must be a great place to live where cops have nothing better to do.
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Nobody being assaulted there ,,, no babies shot to death in strollers or anything. (lets not forget about the old ladies murdered by a wrong address swat raid)
can you imagine people blowing through red lights at will and driving whatever speed they want because there is NO RISK of paying a consequence?
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You mean like your average cop when his shift is over and he wants to get home for dinner? They’ll either use their MIRT device to change the lights green or flip on their takedown lights to go through when their shifts over.
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