Columbus police target distracted drivers in 2 locations — and hit the ticket jackpot

Columbus police targeted distracted motorists in two high-profile locations Wednesday morning and issued more than 100 traffic citations, Lt. Clyde Dent said.

As part of an ongoing operation that started in June of last year, police used roadside spotters looking for distracted drivers and other violations. Police worked the Bradley Park Drive area near the Target beginning at 6:45 a.m. About 8 a.m. they moved downtown to the intersection of 13th Street and Veterans Parkway, where they worked for about two hours.

“This morning there were a total of 111 citations,” Dent said. “Thirty of those were distracted driving citations. The others were miscellaneous citations — seat belt, tag violations, people running red lights and other various violations, even littering. There were three people arrested during this time.”

The Columbus Police Motor Squad, which Dent supervises, conducted the operation. Spotters were used to help identify those in violation of the traffic laws and motorcycle officers would make the stops.

It is at least the fourth such operation conducted by Columbus police in the last 10 months, and the first one since October. The 111 tickets written Wednesday is the most yet in one of these details, according to police.

At least one motorist was arrested for driving with a suspended license, Dent said.

The bulk of the citations were written downtown, he said. He did not have the breakdown of the number of tickets written at Bradley Park and the number written at Veterans Parkway and 13th Street.

The initial operation was June 1 along Bradley Park Drive when police issued 96 citations. Other operations have been conducted on Macon Road near the Columbus Public Library and Victory Drive near South Lumpkin Road.

This is the first time a distracted driving detail has started at one location and moved to another area. Traffic was not as heavy as usual this morning in the Bradley Park area, likely because many Columbus area school students are on spring break.

Dent said he hopes that the multiple details are getting the attention of motorists and bringing awareness to the distracted driving problem.

“We seemed to get noticed at Bradley Park by some individuals out there,” Dent said. “Maybe some people are catching on to the idea. But there are still a lot of violations going on.”

This story was originally published March 28, 2018 at 11:35 AM with the headline "Columbus police target distracted drivers in 2 locations — and hit the ticket jackpot."