Police Use Bucket Truck To Spot Distracted Drivers

Canadian cops have come up with a creative way to catch texting drivers using a bucket truck.

Mounties hide in bucket trucks, transit buses to catch distracted drivers during month-long crackdown https://t.co/dC8ZF1PiY3

— CTV Vancouver (@CTVVancouver) March 30, 2017

The unusual tactic is part of a month long campaign in Chilliwack called “Project Sweep” designed to stamp out distracted driving. RCPM officers in hard hats and overalls were hard to tell from construction workers as they used their high vantage point in the bucket trucks to spot drivers who were texting or engaging in other distracted driving behaviors. Once a distracted driver was spotted, a uniformed traffic officer was contacted to pull over and ticket the offender.

In a single day, officers in the bucket truck spotted 26 drivers engaging in illegal activity. Fourteen of those drivers were ticketed for distracted driving.

RCPM also rode on public transit to try and spot distracted driving behaviors as a part of Project Sweep.

Said RCPM’s Mike Rail, “Distracted driving is preventable. Through educating the motoring public and traffic enforcement, police are working toward removing this dangerous habit from the roadways of our community.“