This is how one Indiana police department catches distracted drivers

Texting is a main cause of crashes and injuries from distracted driving, highway safety experts say.

Indiana's distracted driver law is difficult to enforce, police say.

Because of how it's written, it only allows officers to pull a driver over if they see him or her texting or handling email while driving. If they're checking out Facebook or Google Maps or even streaming a video, that's not a violation.

Frustrating. Indeed.

"It's a difficult statue … because of the way it's worded," admits Capt. Carl Lamb of the Seymour Police Department.

Capt. Carl Lamb of the Seymour Police Department.

But Lamb has come up with a way around it: His department is posting officers on school buses to give them a better vantage point as motorists drive by.

If they see a violation, they alert another officer in a cruiser behind the school bus, who then pulls the offending motorist over and issues a warning or ticket.

On Thursday, Seymour officers using this method made 81 traffic stops, Lamb said. Most were for seat belt violations, but 10 motorists received warnings for distracted driving and another three were handed citations for that offense.

Lamb says he likes to come up with innovative enforcement ideas for the Seymour officers. While watching TV recently, he saw a report about the Oklahoma State Police posting troopers on semitrailer trucks to help them enforce traffic safety laws. So, he modified it for local use.

They did a trial run of the officer-on-a-bus idea in July and issued 34 traffic citations in a four-hour period. They even made one arrest for marijuana possession.

Why does it work so well? "When you're up in the bus, you're much higher up and you have a much better vantage point," Lamb said. 

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Officers in Indiana have complained about the distracted driver law since its passage six years ago. And it's quickly become outdated, as smartphone technology keeps offering new features to users.

As of July 1, 2011, it has been unlawful to type, transmit, or read email or text messages on a communication device while driving in Indiana. Violators may receive fines from $35 to $500.

According to a description of the law on in.gov, the state government's website, distracted driving is "any nondriving activity a motorist engages in that has the potential to distract him or her from the primary task of driving."

The state law addresses three main problems with distracted driving: It affects a motorist's visual, manual and cognitive abilities — sometimes all at once. The state's government website pointed out that people who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash.

Few dispute the dangers of texting while driving

But because of the way the state's law is written, other uses of electronic devices by motorists are still legal in Indiana, unlike other states which ban all use of such devices while driving.

Lamb said the Seymour Police Department doesn't have to pay a dime of its own money for the new program. Instead, he uses a grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute's "Operation Pull Over" program to pay overtime to officers who want to take part.

There's an additional benefit to the new program, Lamb said. It helps crack down on an increasing problem: motorists who drive by school buses while the stop arm is raised.

Lamb hopes that it will catch on with other police departments. And the Criminal Justice Institute grant was just renewed, so he plans to continue the officer-on-a-bus program, as long as it's effective.

Meanwhile, he'll keep hoping that one day state legislators see the wisdom of strengthening — and clarifying — the distracted driving law.

"Hopefully, some day the law will be rewritten so it's easier for us to enforce," Lamb said. "In the meantime, we'll do the best we can with it."

Call IndyStar digital producer Dwight Adams at (317) 444-6532. Follow him on Twitter: @hdwightadams.

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