I have been a police officer for almost 30 years. After all these years, it still amazes me with the things I see drivers and passengers do in their vehicles while driving down our Texas highways.
For years I have worked in marked police cars. When most people see a police car, their driving habits immediately change. They slide on their seatbelt and slow down. Those hands immediately slide to 10 and 2 on the steering wheel.
The years I worked in unmarked police vehicles, the things I observed multiplied. The motorists didn’t realize a police car was beside or behind them, so it didn’t change their driving behavior, and oh, the stories I can tell.
Before cellular telephones, I saw drivers reading the newspaper, reading books, putting on make-up, having sex (yes, I’ve seen it many times), eating, driving while intoxicated, arguing with their passengers, and whooping on the kids, to name a few.
Now if you sit and watch traffic, you will notice about half the cars that pass you, the driver is on some type of cellular device talking or texting. As most of you know, driving is one of the most dangerous things we do daily. Our driving behavior could take a life, maybe even yours, at any moment. I think most of us understand this. Yet we risk hurting ourselves and others for the mere convenience of talking and texting on our telephones.
There are laws and ordinances addressing texting and driving, etc. However, if one chooses to disregard the law or ordinance, it’s a moot point when someone gets stopped or injured.
I have activated an app on my telephone that if my device is moving more than 20 miles per hour, I do not get notice of a telephone call or text message. This has helped me to pay less attention to my telephone while driving.
Today, there is little reason to talk and drive with your telephone to your ear. We have so many devices that make talking and texting hands-free. Nothing is more irritating and dangerous than seeing a driver traveling down the road like a drunk driver or slow poke, and when you put eyes on the driver, they are talking away on the telephone.
I encourage you to go hands-free in your vehicles. Distracted driving causes tens of thousands of traffic collisions in Texas every year, with crashes linked to this behavior resulting in hundreds of fatalities and thousands of serious injuries statewide.
Stay safe, my friends. Call us if you need us.
Steven Jeter is Chief of Police in Trinity.
