Driver Ticketed After Telling Sheriffs Deputy To Stop Typing
- Thread starter HPD84
- Start date
Law enforcement is exempt from not being allowed to drive and use a computer at the same time. However I have personally seen them drift and almost hit me while doing it, or while talking on the phone. I have even seen one officer on a cell and typing on the computer at the same time. It is not safe, but there is nothing we can really do about it and I just ignore it and say out of their way. I almost t-boned a cop car one day for failure to stop at a controlled intersection with no lights or siren. I know they were going to a non-emergency call and probably looking at the screen for the additional info that is not sent over the radio. I just gave the officer a dirt look as they passed me because I was at a complete stop.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=06b_1278411560
it is a valid concern. One simply has got to pay attention to driving first and foremost. If a dispatcher does not put updates on the air, the policy needs to change. There is no way to expect a person to run code on a shooting or kidnapping call, and think that they can read comments on the screen and still drive. Of course there are certian calls that specific info should not go over the air, but those are few, even in a big city like Dallas.
It is also good to keep radio traffic so your fellow officer's know when you are on a traffic stop, or marked out in case shit hits the fan.
it is a valid concern. One simply has got to pay attention to driving first and foremost. If a dispatcher does not put updates on the air, the policy needs to change. There is no way to expect a person to run code on a shooting or kidnapping call, and think that they can read comments on the screen and still drive. Of course there are certian calls that specific info should not go over the air, but those are few, even in a big city like Dallas.
It is also good to keep radio traffic so your fellow officer's know when you are on a traffic stop, or marked out in case shit hits the fan.
All I get in the Vid' is an Officer NOT clearing an intersection and seeing that EVERYONE is STOPPED before punching it across. :?
I can't even read the damn things without pulling over, but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. If a cop can cover a couple suspects with a pistol while using the radio after a foot chase, driving with one hand and typing with the other while being aware of the operational environment should be doable.
I'm not going to lie, it is difficult to do and easy to be distracted and make mistakes. Its a neccessary evil in modern day policing though. I try to be very quick when looking down at the screen or typing in a tag. I'm willing to bet those computers are directly responsible for a lot of police involved collisions.
The computer and driving thing sucks but for most of public safety and many other users it has become a standard. On the other hand the deputy should be wiped for abusing the police power of government like that. Shame on her.
JohnMarcson said:
LOL John...
Back on topic...
For some ungodly reason, I type really really fast. My typing speed is between 95wpm & 12- wpm, which averages out to about 34000 key strokes per hour. The ability to type and drive have never been a problem for me, I can type without ever looking at the screen.
If you have a toughbook with a touch screen- you tap the area you need to type into anyway (which would be like turning the music up, or turning the air down), and then type without looking at the screen.
This is a learned thing though- some people can do it well, some people can't do it worth a shit- so it all depends on what the person's capabilities are.
Now- I can't text and drive worth a shit b/c my fingers are too big for my iphone- so I have to use dragon speach to do my texting for me....
Mike
Why was he paying so much attention to what she was doing if he was driving a vehicle to? If he is so concerned about safety on the road, then he needs to keep his eyes on traffic, not the officer.
I learned it the hard way to not type while driving, after a very close call, you learn to radio in all plates while moving at speeds greater than 15 mph!
Fast LT1 said:
If you're dispatch center will allow that. Ours doesn't, so we're told to run as much as we can in the car. Not to mention, I run over 50 plates a night for expired tabs, warrants, ROs.... Central would have a shitfit running at least all those... per officer. So, we've had to learn to run stuff in the car while driving.