Georgia police pose as roadside construction workers to catch drivers using their phones

A group of Georgia police officers went undercover as roadside construction workers this week to catch drivers illegally using their phones, CBS News reports.

Wearing bright yellow vests and white hard hats while carrying tools, officers handed out 170 tickets within a few hours, mostly to violators of the state’s hands-free law, the network reported.

{mosads}The legislation, which took effect in 2018, bars drivers from having a phone in their hand or touching “any part of their body” while talking on their phone when behind the wheel.

First-time offenders face a $50 fine, while second-time violators face $100 and third-time violators face $150 penalties. The state also assess increasing number of points on the offender’s drivers license. 

No state bans all cellphone use for all drivers, but 48 states and Washington, D.C., ban texting and driving, according to the Governors Highway Safety Administration.

Distracted drivers were involved in crashes killing 3,450 people in the U.S. in 2016, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.