WESTCHESTER COPS HOPE ‘GHOST CAR’ BLENDS IN

Westchester County police will introduce a new “ghost car” Wednesday that is designed to sneak up on motorists who are talking on hand-held cell phones, text-messaging or driving without seat belts. [emphasis mine] The car, a Crown Victoria like other police cars, is white and has no rack or lights on the roof. The county police decal on the side of the vehicle is another shade of white, rather than red and blue, to blend in with other traffic.

Stasaitis said police had been discussing problems with enforcing bans on cell phones and texting, and seat-belt violations, because drivers see patrol cars coming. “If everybody sees the cop, nobody does anything wrong, so you don’t catch the people you need to catch,” Stasaitis said. “Drivers slow down, drop their texting device, then the minute you’re past them, they go back to what they were doing.* [Heavens to Betsy! Talk about the wiliness of professional criminals.] With this car, we’ve got more of a chance of catching violators, because it’s not readily noticeable. Yet, when you do get close to it, you could tell it’s a police car because of the markings.”

Talking on hand-held cell phones, text-messaging or driving without seat belts. Crimes certainly worthy of the death penalty in my book.

Of course, I’m sure that you will never, never, never see a cop talking on a hand-held cell phone, not using a seat belt, nor text messaging while driving. Never.
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*This sounds like the 21st Century version of CB’ers who would warn other CB’ers of radar speed traps. The warned drivers slowed down to the legal speed limit until they passed the trap. Haven’t some states actually passed laws making it illegal to warn other drivers of speed traps? Or drunk driving checkpoints, for that matter?