Distracted driving, particularly texting and driving, has proved to be an onerous task for police departments to enforce.
Approximately 660,000 drivers use their cell phones or some form of electronic device while driving, according to distraction.gov. In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in distraction-affected crashes and 421,000 people were injured.
In Morrison, Illinois, the six-man police department may have found a strategy for catching drivers who are talking on their cell phones without a hands-free device.
"We try to stay stationary in the areas that have the highest volume of traffic," Kevin Soenksen explained as he patrolled Morrison in his squad car. Soenksen will often times sit in one location, watching for drivers who pass by. Soenksen said if he sees a driver looking down or using their phone, he will use his discretion when deciding if he will pull the driver over.
In June of 2014, Soenksen was hit by a driver who was texting while driving. The driver flipped his vehicle near downtown Morrison, but neither the driver nor Soenksen were injured.
"We've given motorists time to adjust to the new law, but now we are beginning to increase the number of violations," said Morrison's Chief of Police Brian Melton.
Melton admits that the department have only given out a "small number" of citations to people talking and driving since the law was implemented in January 2014, but Melton said he expects those numbers to continue increasing.