Cell Phone Ban In School Zones Brings Out Prankster
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FRISCO (CBSDFW.COM) - Getting pulled over for a traffic violation isn't fun unless you're a Frisco man who's pulling a prank to make a point.
Brett Sanders likes getting behind the wheel of his pickup truck, driving through school zones and playing a game of deception with police. But police are not entertained.
The game: driving around holding a block of wood to his ear pretending it's a cell phone.
Sanders finds it silly that it's illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving through a school zone.
"I just decided to try to come up with a creative way to draw attention to this absurdity," said Sanders. "My biggest issue is with the police going out of their way to cite citizens for not harming anybody for essentially committing a victimless crime."
Sanders was pulled over twice already since school started this week by the same officer.
"Once he realized it was a block of wood he let me on my way. So he actually handled it pretty well and was a good sport," said Sanders.
But some in law enforcement aren't seeing the humor or point of Sanders' effort to distract them from pulling over distracted drivers.
Frisco Police sent CBS11 this statement:
"We know that parents of students in Frisco appreciate our presence in the school zones and that us being there does make school zones safer."
A study by the National Safety Council found drivers are four times more likely to crash if they are using a cell phone. But Sanders argues that distracted driving is caused by many things, not just cell phone use.
"Cell phones don't have a monopoly on distracted driving. You could be eating a cheeseburger. You could be sipping on coffee or yelling at your kids," said Sanders.
The fine for using a cell phone in a school zone is anywhere from $200 to $500.
Sanders plans to continue fooling officers with his block of wood whenever he sees an active school zone.
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