Ga. Police Pose as Utility Workers to Catch Distracted Drivers
Police officers in Marietta, Georgia recently used disguises to catch drivers violating the state's hands-free driving law.
Police officers in Marietta, Georgia donned disguises to catch drivers violating the state's hands-free driving law known as the Hands Free Georgia Act, reports the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Earlier this month, three municipal officers went undercover, wearing reflective vests and posing as utility workers on a major intersection's raised medians to catch drivers on their cell phones, reports the Marietta Daily Journal. They then radioed about violators to more than 40 marked police cars stationed in the area.
The sting operation was coordinated by Marietta police with the help of the Cobb Country Police Department and Georgia State Patrol.
The operation worked. While not all of the citations given were for distracted driving, Georgia troopers wrote 29 tickets, while Marietta and Cobb officers wrote 141, reports the Constitution-Journal.
Georgia's hands-free law prohibits drivers from holding their phones or having it anywhere on their body while driving, even if the driver is stopped at a light. The law allows the use of a hands-free device, such as a Bluetooth earpiece or Bluetooth pairing through the vehicle’s speakers, to make or receive calls. It also allows the driver one touch to accept or decline a call and to mount phones on the windshield or center consoles, notes the Daily Journal.
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