Stopping texting and driving, a tough task for law enforcement in Nebraska

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Its Distracted Driving Consciousness Month, and Nebraska Division of Transportation has awarded grants to legislation enforcement companies throughout the state, together with Douglas County Sheriff’s Workplace and the Papillion Police Division, to implement the U.S. Division of Transportation’s Nationwide Freeway Site visitors Security Administration (NHTSA) U Drive, U Textual content, U Pay marketing campaign.

The most important downside isn’t imposing the legislation, it’s the legislation they’re imposing is, nicely, onerous to implement.

As a secondary offense in Nebraska, you may’t be pulled over for texting alone, which police say makes it harder to interrupt drivers of the damaging behavior.

“We’re wanting particularly for people who find themselves texting and driving, utilizing a cell system that’s not hands-free, so arms are occupied and eyes are wanting elsewhere apart from the highway,” Papillion Police Officer Frank Matyja stated earlier than starting his patrol in one of many “grant vehicles”, staffed with the grant funds to maintain an eye fixed out for distracted drivers, significantly drivers texting whereas driving, and even when they’re at a cease gentle. If the automotive is on the highway, and the driving force is texting, its a violation.

“Texting is, by far, it’s merely one of the harmful issues you are able to do whereas driving,” stated Brian Ortner, public affairs specialist with AAA Nebraska. “A textual content takes away, your common have a look at the highway, is about six seconds in size. Addressing a textual content is about 4.6 out of these six seconds, and everyone knows how shortly issues change on the highway.”

“That’s a great instance of the smallest distraction,” Matyja stated after he pulled alongside a possible violator of texting legal guidelines. “When she was pulling up, I may clearly see she was driving down the center of each lanes, so I believed she was texting, however she was simply on her cellphone.”

Speaking on the cellphone will not be in opposition to the legislation in Nebraska. He may’ve nonetheless pulled her over for failing to take care of lanes, however the issue is obvious for officers making an attempt to implement texting and driving. Nebraska is certainly one of solely three states that doesn’t contemplate texting and driving a major shifting violation.

However to Matyja, his work on the Sarpy County crash staff has proven him firsthand that texting and driving will not be a minor offense.

“I get referred to as out after I’m not working to go and work crash scenes the place, usually, it’s a horrendous harm, if not a fatality,” he stated. “(If) we often get referred to as out, it’s a fatality. I can’t say as a rule, however it’s common the place a tool of some type is the trigger, or not less than a contributing issue.”

Invoice Kovarik with the Nebraska Division of Transportation stated the NHTSA launched new numbers this week — together with a 15-year excessive of highway fatalities in Nebraska in 2022. However most present crash stats for the state relating to particular kinds of distracted driving, like texting, are outdated. Up to date knowledge assortment strategies later this yr will embody 50 new knowledge factors — exhibiting what he believes we already know — texting and driving is way extra harmful than many assume.

“Each day, whenever you drive down the highway, simply have a look at the automotive subsequent to you whenever you’re stopped,” Kovarik stated. “Extra and an increasing number of of them are on their telephones, doing one thing apart from driving, so we do know the problem is getting worse. I feel the largest a part of it getting worse is the social acceptance.”

Fines vary from $200 to $500 in case you’re caught texting and driving in Nebraska, plus three factors in your file — all affecting your insurance coverage charges. As a secondary offense, you may’t be pulled over for texting alone — which police say makes it harder to interrupt drivers of the damaging behavior.

“I have to see it, so it adjustments up the best way I patrol, usually. As an alternative of possibly doing quite a lot of cell radar the place I see a automobile coming down a hill rushing, I can flip a radar clock on them,” Matyja stated. “I can sit in an space that enables me to clock a violation that’s coming in the direction of me, and as they go me, I can look by way of the windshield into the driving force’s compartment to see in the event that they’re on the cellphone. If I can see that, then (mixed with the rushing) that’s adequate for a violation, and I’ve a secondary.”

Within the occasion of a severe crash, for instance, legislation enforcement can seize the driving force’s cellphone, and after acquiring a warrant, entry info and name logs that will point out they had been texting or on the cellphone on the time. This will add to the fees in these instances. However the technique of stopping the precise conduct within the first place is hard to deal with.

“In the event you would say, I’m gonna drive drunk, clearly all people would say, oh no you’re not,” Kovarik stated. “Proper now in case you say, I simply test a number of textual content messages whereas I’m driving down the highway, most individuals say yeah, I do, too. It’s not the response we must be getting.”

“Reaching for the radio, imagine or not shaving, placing on make-up, these issues are all distractions,” Ortner stated. “Right here’s the loopy factor: each mile you drive, your mind subconsciously makes 200 totally different decisions, in that one mile.”

Ortner admits we’ve all seemingly made decisions that result in distracted driving, however identified a number of methods he’s made adjustments. He recommends utilizing cellphone settings to mechanically reply to texts, and counting on a passenger to assist navigate and even change the radio station somewhat than do it your self.

“I’m not the one who can say, yeah, I do this 100% of the time, it takes aware efforts to make these decisions, to set that cellphone down, to not make that decision,” Ortner stated. “Its simply being conscious that when you have got the chance to make that call, make the one which’s gonna make you essentially the most secure.”

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