Calgary police to use covert spotters to catch distracted drivers

[cet]

Just an FYI. Calgary police are going to start using covert spotters to catch distracted drivers

From CBC

If you're one of those sneaky drivers who sends text messages while you're waiting at a stop light, beware. Calgary police have a new way to catch you.

"People are going to be seen and they won't know it until they're pulled over. And as crafty as they think they are they're still going to get a ticket,"

Staff Sgt. Paul Stacey with the Calgary police traffic section told the Calgary Eyeopener on Friday.

He said there will be spotters at intersections in both plain clothes and uniform. If they see you texting, they'll radio your licence plate and car model over to another officer farther down the road.

"And then we'll pull those people over and issue them tickets," said Stacey.

The penalty for distracted driving is a $287 fine and three demerit points.

Not surprisingly, Stacey is keeping mum about where these spotters will be stationed.

[schocker]

Hmm, maybe they could have those officers could be checking for jaywalkers or people rolling/running reds downtown also.

[gretz]

I try to stay out...................... ughhhhhhhhhh lol can't do it...

To the picture of the officer my friend took, sitting at the light after it turned green with his phone to his fucking nose, can I be a spotter and report?

Such horse shit, another "well, it's a problem still... all of these cars not in motion at lights have the potential to turn into a scene out of blues brothers... we need to crack down on motionless crimes now as the moving traffic violations aren't enough to support 50 new positions"

Sorry, I could tell you how I really feel, not enough space... fucking hypocrites

[BokCh0y]

Great article J.

This is great news, the number of people I still see on the road that text or talk on the phone is ridiculous.

[whiteout]

Can't imagine the amount of pride that doing that would bring at the end of your day.

"Hi honey, did you catch any murderers today?"

"No"

"Investigate a B&E or catch a thief?"

"No"

"Stop someone from being assaulted or raped?"

"No"

"Well what did you do?"

"I hid at an intersection, took pictures of people who were stopped at a light checking their phone, then radioed someone else down the road to pull them over".

[mzdspd]

They have been doing this in downtown Edmonton pretty much daily for the last 2 weeks.. Cop stands on the corner and then they pull you into a parking lot by the high level bridge on 109 st.

It creates a massive backlog of traffic during rush hour as well.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Nice, someone standing on the side of the road trying to look into cars and tell definitively if someone is texting vs. switching the hands-free on their phones to make a safe phone call....I see no room for error there at all....

Let's not forget it's still fine to drive around with 6 distracting kids, smoke, drink piping hot coffee, and fiddle with the radio, because all that is way safer than someone pressing 2 buttons on a phone at a red light.

[spike98]

Originally posted by mzdspd
They have been doing this in downtown Edmonton pretty much daily for the last 2 weeks.. Cop stands on the corner and then they pull you into a parking lot by the high level bridge on 109 st.

It creates a massive backlog of traffic during rush hour as well.

Bottom of the cochrane hill is another spot for the last two years. Spotting scope behind the stop sign.

[gretz]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
Nice, someone standing on the side of the road trying to look into cars and tell definitively if someone is texting vs. switching the hands-free on their phones to make a safe phone call....I see no room for error there at all....

Let's not forget it's still fine to drive around with 6 distracting kids, smoke, drink piping hot coffee, and fiddle with the radio, because all that is way safer than someone pressing 2 buttons on a phone at a red light.

That's what court is for... convincing you are innocent

I love the comments about how terrible texting (distracted) while driving is... This has nothing to do with driving, which would suggest one is moving.

No? I've driven Lambo's, show cars, even cars with no engines or wheels... obviously being stationary is still driving...

I Love Tammy's comments lol, savage and effective.

I do not text and drive at all for the record because of it's obvious issues.

Handsfree? Have you ever seen a woman talk without using hand gestures? Might as well put a phone in her hand so she isn't a crazy flailing arm inflatable tubeman at the wheel... Oh wait, thats safe lol (my wife is a handtalker lol)

[FraserB]

Originally posted by gretz


That's what court is for... convincing you are innocent

Court should be about the Crown convincing the judge you are guilty, not you trying to convince the judge you are innocent.

[Swank]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
Nice, someone standing on the side of the road trying to look into cars and tell definitively if someone is texting vs. switching the hands-free on their phones to make a safe phone call....I see no room for error there at all....

Let's not forget it's still fine to drive around with 6 distracting kids, smoke, drink piping hot coffee, and fiddle with the radio, because all that is way safer than someone pressing 2 buttons on a phone at a red light.

Agreed, but phone addiction is here to stay. Phones should be treated like booze, out of the reach of the driver at all times. No driver needs to be on their phone, they just want to be on their phone.

[Xtrema]

I have no problem with this. They need to catch more people that are still talking on handsets or playing pokemon or something.

I don't even care if this is a revenue play. I have seen so many accidents and potential accidents on Crowchild just because people won't put the phone down and pay attention.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by Swank
Agreed, but phone addiction is here to stay. Phones should be treated like booze, out of the reach of the driver at all times. No driver needs to be on their phone, they just want to be on their phone.

I would argue coffee/cigarette addiction is worse than phone addiction. How do you think someone is going to drive if they drop a cigarette down their shirt or a scalding hot Tim Hortons XL on their lap driving down Deerfoot? I'd much rather be in the car with the guy turning on his hands-free or firing off a 2 second text at a 5-minute red light.

It's a slippery slope, they just chose cell phones because it generates the most ticket revenue. A group of people on a road trip visiting, listening to loud music, etc or a minivan full of 6 screaming kids is wayyyyy worse than a red light text. Most 'soccer moms' drive far worse than someone talking on a cell phone, yet there is zero interest in making people safer drivers when an alternative is ticket revenue.

Sure, nobody should be looking down at their phone writing a paragraph text while driving - agreed. But they have taken it much farther, and well into the completely unreasonable realm. If safety is their concern, it should be all or nothing, at least in my opinion.

No driver *needs* to be talking to other passengers, or changing radio stations, drinking hot beverages, smoking, or doing any of the other equally if not more distracting things either - but all that is fine. What if that incoming phone call is to tell me to come visit a dying loved one in the hospital? Or a family emergency at home? I would argue you need to answer that call.

None of this is directed at you by the way haha, just ranting.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Originally posted by gretz


That's what court is for... convincing you are innocent

I love the comments about how terrible texting (distracted) while driving is... This has nothing to do with driving, which would suggest one is moving.

No? I've driven Lambo's, show cars, even cars with no engines or wheels... obviously being stationary is still driving...

I Love Tammy's comments lol, savage and effective.

I do not text and drive at all for the record because of it's obvious issues.

Handsfree? Have you ever seen a woman talk without using hand gestures? Might as well put a phone in her hand so she isn't a crazy flailing arm inflatable tubeman at the wheel... Oh wait, thats safe lol (my wife is a handtalker lol)

At least with the specific way it has been implemented, and with all the glaring omissions of other equally if not more dangerous practices that have remained legal (Not to mention zero interest in making sure drivers who got their licences 30 years ago are still safe drivers), it's pretty clear they have just cherry picked what will make them the most ticket revenue, adding "officer discretion" to the mix so there is virtually no way to get a judge to believe your side of the story. A coworker's son just got a distracted driving ticket recently (for being on his cell phone), and his cell phone was in his backpack in the back seat. Went to court, lost, and had to pay the fine plus the time off work.

That is my problem with it at the end of the day, the specific way it's been implemented, and the omissions. Safety is once again not the concern, or they would have done a lot more. $250 or whatever it is no every time an officer sees that glow on a driver's face (or when there isn't even a phone present) is far more lucrative.

[mzdspd]

I guess I can see some safety to this.. I do not text or check my phone when I am driving or when I am stopped. Therefore this does not effect me.

However, I guess this is a way for police to show that you cannot be on your phone at all, whether you are stationary or moving. And if you check your phone at lights, there is a chance that you also might do it while driving.

But there are so many more distractions with vehicles now. I have been dialing a number on the screen of my trucks infotainment system and noticed that I am drifting into other lanes. So It is not just phones that are the problem.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by mzdspd
But there are so many more distractions with vehicles now. I have been dialing a number on the screen of my trucks infotainment system and noticed that I am drifting into other lanes. So It is not just phones that are the problem.

It's not and it will only get worse/better with Android Auto and Carplay and the lines blur even further.

So let get them while getting is good. Eyes on handset on hands outside of a parking lot = tickets now.

[gretz]

Since I have some time today, I thought I would investigate some crash odds...

http://distracteddriving.caa.ca/educ...crash-odds.php

Text messaging (or texting) on a cell phone — 23 times more likely
Talking on a cell phone — 4 to 5 times more likely
Reading — 3 times more likely
Applying makeup — 3 times more likely
Reaching for a moving object — 9 times more likely
Dialing on a hand-held device — 3 times more likely
Talking or listening on a hand-held device — 1.3 times more likely

I can't even begin to try and understand how texting and dialing a number (soooooo much different than texting, less characters to choose from = way safer) are so vastly different.

Reading, dialing a number, applying makeup, reaching for a moving object lol...? Much better than talking on a phone... but talking and listening to the "hand-held" device is safe.

I feel like I am taking crazy pills listening to this shit, and people buy into it? Idiocracy at it's finest

[My_name_is_Rob]

I still think if they brought in stricter license testing, and made people do follow up tests, they could eliminate this problem completely. I am still amazed by the number of lazy drivers over here, who either don't know the rules of the road, or just don't adhere to them.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by My_name_is_Rob
I still think if they brought in stricter license testing, and made people do follow up tests, they could eliminate this problem completely.

That's only going to work for seniors, to which have a completely different problem. That is, they're like, "Why does the rest of the world move so fast" lol. If you want to get voted in, you don't piss off the seniors no matter how much they're wrong.

With the text generation, it's like, "I just HAVE to immediately respond to whatever meaningless crap you've texted me". It's similar to the drunk that drives. That is, when you're drunk on alcohol, or just drunk on texting, then rational thought goes out the window and you'll feel like you're the best driver EVER.

And then you drive anyway....

[JohnnyHockey]

How about catching the ones doing it whiiiilllle driving? ?