Distracted drivers 'overwhelming'

By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

HAYDEN — The nice little elderly lady was looking down while driving, which tipped off Sheriff's Lt. Stu Miller.

When her speed approached 50 mph in a 35 mph zone on Ramsey Road, Miller turned on the lights of his Kootenai County Sheriff's Office rig.

"I asked her what she'd been looking at and she said she was going through her coupon book on the way to the grocery store," he said.

It's those kinds of distracted-while-driving scenarios — just replace the coupon book with makeup, cellphones, books, maps or whatever — that prompted the KCSO to conduct its first emphasis patrol on Wednesday focusing on such violations.

The number of catches was plentiful. More than 25 contacts were made and 20 citations were issued.

But had there been more manpower for the emphasis, the numbers could have nearly doubled, Miller said.

"We started with five deputies and ended with three because two had to go to court cases," he said. "Even when all the marked units were busy on traffic stops, the number of violations observed by the unmarked vehicles still actively patrolling continued.

“One of the deputies called it 'overwhelming.'"

The emphasis went from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. along the Prairie Avenue corridor in Hayden. Unmarked units cruised the area and, when deputies spotted a driver who appeared to be distracted while driving, they'd contact a deputy in a marked patrol car to conduct the traffic stop.

Miller said while some drivers may be frustrated that unmarked cars were used in the emphasis, he has a ready response.

"Pay attention all the time and you wouldn't have a problem," he said.

Miller said drivers tend to pay attention and obey the law when a marked law enforcement vehicle is nearby and think they can push the limit when those units are not in sight.

"But once their car is trashed, the game changes a lot," he said.

Miller said the results of the emphasis already have the KCSO talking about conducting another such patrol.

"What we're really after is trying to curb people from being distracted and reducing the number of accidents," he said. "It doesn’t always harm just one person. Generally there's damage to someone else's property or well-being, then you've created victims and it's unfortunate that people have to go through something like that."

Miller said most of the violators during the emphasis were issued a ticket of $81.90 for texting while driving. But sometimes distracted-while-driving violators are hit with a misdemeanor inattentive driving charge that results in a jail sentence of up to 90 days and/or a fine of up to $300. Inattentive driving is a lesser offense than reckless driving.

Miller said inattentive driving charges generally follow an accident. They’re easier to prove in court than a texting while driving charge, he said.

Deputies wrote seven tickets for texting while driving from January through April and 20 citations for inattentive driving.

Idaho State Police Lt. Chris Schenck said distracted drivers can be difficult to find from a marked patrol car and that catching them is more a matter of being in the right place at the right time. However, he added, law enforcement has other eyes on its side to assist.

"Oftentimes other drivers will call in a bad driving pattern, which, through investigation, may lead to something other than impaired drivers such as texting or sleepy drivers," Schenck said. "What often draws our attention is the driving pattern itself."

Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug said as big a problem as distracted driving is, it can be difficult to prove unless an officer witnesses a driver texting in plain view, the driver admits to it or an investigation is conducted as a result of an accident and a search warrant is obtained to view the phone.

Haug said that could be one of the reasons such emphasis patrols are rare — along with the fact most agencies have focused on other emphasis programs such as speeding, seat belts, railroad crossings, crosswalks, DUIs and uncovered loads.

He said his agency hasn't conducted a distracted-while-driving emphasis nor does it have one planned.

"Texting-while-driving is definitely a problem," Haug said. "It just can be difficult for an officer to prove."

Haug said Idaho's inattentive driving law, however, is more of an all-encompassing code that does a great job of covering most issues officers face when it comes to accidents or driver behavior.

Texting while driving law

Idaho code (49-1401A) states “texting” means engaging in the review of, or manual preparation and transmission of, written communications via handheld wireless devices. This definition does not include voice-operated or hands-free devices that allow the user to review, prepare and transmit a text message without the use of either hand except to activate, deactivate or initiate a feature or function. Texting while driving a moving motor vehicle shall constitute an infraction provided this does not apply to voice-operated or hands-free devices that allow the user to review, prepare and transmit a text message without the use of either hand except to activate, deactivate or initiate a feature or function.