St. Paul Police Seeing Uptick In Distracted Driving
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Here in Minnesota, there's a startling increase in distracted driving.
Too many people are doing too much while they are behind the wheel. Department of Public Safety records show that 7,357 drivers were cited for texting and driving last year.
That's a 23 percent increase from the year before, when 5,998 people were ticketed. The problem goes beyond texting and surfing the web.
St. Paul police say a growing number of drivers are distracted by the navigation tools on their phones. Officers say it's just as dangerous as texting.
And as we found out, there's a safe way and an illegal way to use your phone for directions.
What's in your hands when you're driving? Hopefully just the steering wheel.
Where are your eyes? They should be on the road.
In reality, St. Paul Police Officer Joshua Moore knows that's often not the case with many drivers.
"We've seen everything. They're driving with their knees. They're on their phones playing video games. We had a guy not too long ago trading stocks on eTrade," Officer Joshua Moore said.
In Minnesota, the only legal thing you can do on your phone while driving is talk. When we rode with Officer Moore, we watched him stop drivers on Snelling Avenue for a variety of reasons.
Officer Moore used his body camera to record video of a driver of a convertible, looking down at the phone in his hand and tapping on it. Another driver who was stopped by a motorcycle cop working with Moore admitted to checking out photos on Instagram.
And a driver confessed she was searching for a coupon as she headed to a gas station. All of them got tickets.
"We literally have everything at our fingertips with these phones. Look at this guy. He's trying to take a picture of the soccer stadium," Officer Moore said.
This driver exemplifies what police often see and hear.
"You see the constant head bobbing, the up and down of the head. They are looking down at the phone," Officer Moore said.
"We pull people over and then they explain to us they were using GPS. When you do that you are actually in violation of the law," Officer Moore added.
The Minnesota statute on the use of a wireless communications device prohibits accessing any electronic message or website while driving. The exception is if your phone is in voice-activated or hands-free mode.
"It has to be in that hands-free mode, where you are not manipulating it, looking at it, reading it," Officer Moore said. "The mount is the best way, the legal way to do that."
There are many different types of phone mounts. Some rest on your dashboard, others attach to vents beside the steering wheel. Another option if you are using a navigation tool is to leave your phone in the center console, but it needs to be in the voice-activated mode, where you can simply listen to directions."
"If your hands are on the wheel and you are driving and the phone is telling you where to go, then you are probably not going to have a problem with the police because all we need to see are your hands on the wheel and that you are driving straight ahead," Officer Moore said.
The fine for a first time offense is $50, but after court fees are added, it's actually $136. With a second offense and subsequent tickets, the fine goes up to $225, but with court fees turns out to be $361.
