Driver Ticketed After Telling Sheriffs Deputy To Stop Typing

K9Vic

Member
May 23, 2010
1,225
Fort Worth, TX
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.
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
I'm sureprised this wasn't posted by thezach.....lol
 

HILO

Member
May 20, 2010
2,781
Grand Prairie Texas
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.
 

HILO

Member
May 20, 2010
2,781
Grand Prairie Texas
Austin PD, the officer wastyping notes on his MDC.
 

Stendec

Member
May 21, 2010
816
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.
 

mcpd2025

Member
May 20, 2010
1,557
Maryland, USA
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.
 

Cam

Member
May 20, 2010
247
MO
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.
 

mfaith91

Member
May 23, 2010
166
Kentucky
JohnMarcson said:
I'm sureprised this wasn't posted by thezach.....lol

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
 

Paul

Member
May 21, 2010
63
Arizona
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.
 

Fast LT1

Member
May 24, 2010
2,018
Sedgwick County, KS
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!
 

rwo978

Member
May 21, 2010
5,196
ND, USA
Fast LT1 said:
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!

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.
 

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