Hundreds cited, arrest made in Columbus distracted driving traffic sting
About 30 officers with the Columbus Police Department and Georgia state patrol set up distracted driving stings around the city Wednesday, hunting for motorists talking on cell phones, shooting video, reading, eating, applying makeup or other actions that take their eyes off the road.
“They have been quite busy,” said Roger Hayes, director of law enforcement services for the Georgia Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, who was among the “spotters” looking for distracted drivers before alerting the law enforcement officers who were pulling people over.
The operation began at 8 a.m. and ended at 3 p.m., with officers monitoring these locations at various times:
- 13th Street and Veterans Parkway.
- Victory Drive and Benning Drive.
- Macon Road near Interstate 185.
- Manchester Expressway and Veterans Parkway.
After the sting ended, Hayes gave this rundown of the citations issued:
- 108 for distracted driving.
- 76 for no seat belt.
- 1 for speeding.
- 185 for miscellaneous violations.
“We did have one arrest in there,” Hayes added, noting that when a state trooper stopped a driver at Veterans Parkway and Manchester Expressway, the motorist “got out and wanted to fight,” even though a dozen law enforcement officers were standing there watching.
“That gentleman went to jail,” Hayes said.
Authorities likely will run another sting here this year, he said: “I think before the end of the year, we will be back over there.”
Misconceptions
Hayes said such operations often illustrate how little people understand the law.
Some are unaware that driving with cell phones to their ears is not the only distraction for which they can be ticketed. Officers have witnessed drivers pull out their phones to shoot video of the sting operation, and that’s also against the law.
“They can’t film anything, and they can’t be watching a movie,” Hayes said, noting officers have caught drivers doing both.
The statute allows motorists to use their phones only “hands free,” he said: “You can’t be touching the phone with any part of your body.”
Some drivers think they can use a phone in their hands as long as they’re stopped at a traffic light, he said. That, too, is against the law. “That’s probably the biggest one,” he said of public misconceptions of the law.
He added that eating, reading, checking your hair in the rearview mirror, or using any electronic device available in today’s high-tech automobiles can result in a ticket, meaning “anything that takes you away from the operation of your vehicle.”
He specifically mentioned having a slice of pizza in one hand and a cup of dipping sauce in the other, which is what led to a woman’s death two years ago in the Athens, Georgia, area. “That’s what she was doing when she ran off the road,” Hayes said.
He said the fine for a first distracted driving citation is $50, but that can be waived upon drivers’ proving they’ve acquired a hands-free phone. The fine for a second offense is $100, and for a third violation, it’s $150, he said.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 1:18 PM.