Fayetteville Police Target Texting Behind The Wheel
Updated: January 28, 2013
Fayetteville police are beefing up patrols Monday and Tuesday on North College Avenue in an effort to cut down on distracted driving.
"We all know that it's dangerous," says Sgt. Craig Stout of the Fayetteville Police Department. "We've seen the warnings but it's still that constant need to be connected. People have become so dependent on their cellphones that they just have a hard time breaking from that habit."
The police set up shop at College and North Street, one of the city's busiest intersections.
"Ultimately we want to reduce crashes and save people from getting injured," Stout says. "It only takes a second for an accident to happen."
And while using handheld devices seems to be the most common violation, Stout has also seen some more flagrant offenses.
"Distracted driving can be anything," he says. "We observed a lady who had both hands going down the road driving with her knees because she was putting on makeup."
Officers noticed more than seventy offenses in just a few hours, and although not everyone was cited, Stout says any time you take your eyes off the road, you're asking for trouble.
"If you have to use your phone, pull over, stop, make sure that you're safe when you do that," he says. "It's just not worth having a tragedy or someone getting hurt because they were distracted."
"We all know that it's dangerous," says Sgt. Craig Stout of the Fayetteville Police Department. "We've seen the warnings but it's still that constant need to be connected. People have become so dependent on their cellphones that they just have a hard time breaking from that habit."
The police set up shop at College and North Street, one of the city's busiest intersections.
"Ultimately we want to reduce crashes and save people from getting injured," Stout says. "It only takes a second for an accident to happen."
And while using handheld devices seems to be the most common violation, Stout has also seen some more flagrant offenses.
"Distracted driving can be anything," he says. "We observed a lady who had both hands going down the road driving with her knees because she was putting on makeup."
Officers noticed more than seventy offenses in just a few hours, and although not everyone was cited, Stout says any time you take your eyes off the road, you're asking for trouble.
"If you have to use your phone, pull over, stop, make sure that you're safe when you do that," he says. "It's just not worth having a tragedy or someone getting hurt because they were distracted."
