It’s not exactly high-tech, but New York troopers are getting a new crime-fighting tool to root out texting drivers: Tall, unmarked SUVs that seat high enough so that police can peer into other motorists’ windows and see what they’re doing.
Troopers have 32 of them now, The Associated Press reported. And it’s just one facet of the state’s new crackdown on texting drivers. Police have also added dozens of spots of the highway for drivers to pull to the side and text, called “Texting Zones,” AP said. Authorities, meanwhile, have increased the amount of fines that violators have to pay.
“Look at that,” Trooper Clayton Howell said, looking down at a BMW driver from his SUV, AP reported. “This guy’s looking down. I can see his thumb on the phone. I think we got him.”
New York is one of 41 states to ban drivers from texting. This year, fines for violators in the state went up to $200, AP said.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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