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Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Troopers Answer Questions About Cellphone Law Online

 http://www.wptz.com/news/vermont-new-york/burlington/troopers-answer-questions-about-cellphone-law-online/28272524

 WILLISTON, Vt. —The Vermont State Police is using Facebook to communicate with drivers about the ban on hand held cellphones and other devices going into effect Oct. 1.

"If you have anything in your hand when you're driving, an electronic device in your hand when you're driving, you're subject to being stopped," said Lt. Garry Scott, the Vermont State Police Traffic Safety Commander.

The cell phone ban passed the legislature earlier this year, but lawmakers held off putting it into effect to give the motoring public time to learn about the new law.

"I testified on this bill the whole way through," he said.

Scott facilitated the a live chat Friday, taking questions from hundreds of users. A common question: "what about police using cell phones on the road?"

"We expect our troopers to be safer than most people on the road, and set an example. There's going to be circumstances when there are active situations. A school shooting, for example, when the radio in the car isn't enough, so there's going to be some circumstances, like that," he said.

Police say, across the board, if a driver is misusing a cell phone in times of emergency they'll be writing tickets with discretion.

Other questions about some of the other things people do on the road like apply makeup, and read the newspaper came up in the online chat.

"There's still going to be other distractions out there. What is going to be the next step is how do we curb people from this aggressive driving?"

Through this process some questions, like where is and isn't it okay to position a phone with-in the car, have created food for thought for officers .

"This doesn't capture everything it doesn't fix everything, but it is a step in the right direction."

2 comments:

  1. im assuming that typing away on a laptop is frowned upon as well. however on dec 30th 2013 that's just what a Windsor county sheriffs employee was doing at 80 mph on rt 91 how do I know? I was in the back terrified thinking I could die if someone blows a tire.

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  2. Timely blog post ! I am thankful for the points , Does anyone know where I could get access to a fillable a form copy to complete ?

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