Cops Radar Texting and Driving

These days, serve and protect seems much more like SERVE and COLLECT. As in ‘serve’ a ticket, ‘collect’ a fine. You’ve heard of it by now. For the last several years, civil rights groups have been fighting police departments in court over the use of red light cameras. All over the country, courts have been deciding whether or not these red light cameras should be allowed. Many annoyed drivers criticize the devices, calling it a greedy cash grab for the city. Meanwhile, other concerns are more delicate, weighing the rights of police to monitor or collect data without citizens consent.

But while all of these debates are raging, police could soon have another money maker on their hands. Of course, we all know what it’s like to see a trooper pointing his radar gun at you. Everyone starts pumping the brakes. But if these new radar guns get approved, you’ll want to put down your phone too.

A Virginia Tech company named ComSonics is developing a new monitor that picks up radio frequencies from a cell phone. This radar-gun looking device could allow cops to point it at a moving car and read whether or not the person inside is trying to send a text. It’s illegal to text and drive in 44 states, so law enforcement officials view it as another easy revenue stream. But like the red light cameras, there are plenty of obstacles.

For instance, how would the officer distinguish between a text message sent from a driver and a passenger? And what happens if someone sends YOU a text WHILE you’re driving? And is any of that evidence enough for a cop to pull someone over? If the red light camera issue is any indicator, it’s not something that law enforcement is willing to put up to a vote. Instead, police departments seem more inclined to seek forgiveness rather than permission.