Talk about a covert operation: Police in the New Jersey borough of Dunellen recently carried out a ticketing operation on drivers guilty of being distracted. Namely, of being on their phones while behind the wheel. What’s unusual about that? Police concocted a disguise that saw a binoculars-toting police officer posted on the side of the road, dressed… as a Sasquatch-y bush.
A productive traffic operation
The operation carried out by the Dunellen Borough Police Department in New Jersey launched a targeted traffic operation that netted dozens of citations in a single afternoon. More specifically, 74 drivers in the space of six hours failed to spot the policeman-dressed-as-a-bush, and paid the price.
To catch motorists holding cellphones along a busy stretch of road heavily trafficked by both vehicles and pedestrians, one officer fully committed to camouflage. Wearing a sniper-style ghillie suit, the officer blended into an extra-leafy tree along the roadside, acting as an undercover spotter to watch for drivers looking down at their screens. Uniformed officers stationed further down the road then intercepted the offenders.
According to a Facebook update released by the department, the operation resulted in 74 distracted driving citations issued in just six hours. “Remember: that text or notification can wait. Keep your eyes on the road, not on your screen!” the police department urged in its post.
There is a genuine debate to be had about just how far police should be allowed to go in search of scofflaws. On the other hand, driver distraction caused by mobile phone use is a scourge and the cause of innumerable road accidents. Studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) consistently link smartphone use behind the wheel to significantly higher rates of rear-end collisions.
Distracted driving laws carry severe consequences in the U.S. as well as in Canada. In Canada all provinces impose fines and demerit points on drivers caught in the act of acting badly by staring at their phones. Repeat offenders can have their driver’s permits suspended.
In any event, hats off to the Dunellen Borough Police Department for its creativity, if nothing else. We do encourage motorists not to take their eyes off the road in search of police officers dressed as bushes. Lastly, we have yet to be able to confirm or dispel rumours that the OPP and the Sureté du Québec plan similar campaigns with officers set to dress up as orange traffic cones.