The Iowa State Patrol employed a new tactic to catch drivers that are texting while on the road.
According to reports, the Iowa State Patrol partnered with a trucking company that made it easier to catch lawbreakers.
Since trucks are higher than a sedan or an SUV, the patrol officers could see drivers texting behind the wheel much easier.
Iowa State Patrol believes new tactic can help catch lawbreakers
When a driver is caught texting while driving, the patrol officer would then radio about a dozen troopers waiting for the driver on Interstate 35/80.
The lawbreakers are pulled over and given a ticket.
"It's going to bring awareness as those motorists drive down the road and they see us with the lights on or see these traffic stops happening. It's going to make somebody think twice about what they are doing," Sgt. Alex Dinkla, who works for the Iowa State Patrol, said via KCCI.
Iowa State's statistics show texting while driving causes accidents
Iowa State also released their statistics on texting while driving, saying that drivers who use their phones while on the road are four times as likely to get into serious crashes that could leave them injured.
Reading or sending a text for five seconds means removing eyes on the road. And doing so could be likened to driving the length of a football field at 55 mph with eyes closed.
In Iowa alone, the number of crashes due to distracted drivers has been on the rise. There were 1,101 cases reported in 2019, and the numbers could increase further by the end of the year.
The statistics also revealed that young and inexperienced drivers are at a higher risk of getting in an accident when they are not wholly focused on the road.
Iowa is also aiming for a zero fatality record, which, if achieved, would be the first time in the state since 1925.
Texting while driving law in Iowa criticized
However, not all residents of Iowa believe that making texting while driving a primary offense is the right thing to do.
Years ago, ACLU criticized the state's texting while driving law and called it problematic. After all, it can reportedly make racial profiling by police even more common, even though the incidence of racially discriminatory traffic stops has already been prevalent in Iowa.
In 2018, several loopholes were also found shortly after the texting while driving law was put in place, according to Des Moines Register.
After all, some patrol officers gave drivers a ticket for not immediately moving after the traffic light turned green. And they assumed this was because they were texting or not focusing on the road.
Thousands of drivers were charged $100 and were asked to make a court appearance. But more than half of the cases were dismissed after the drivers proved that they weren't texting while driving.
Three years later, the Iowa State Patrol hopes that riding a truck will give them a new vantage point that will allow them to confirm whether nearby vehicles are texting while driving or not.
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