Bonnie Ferrar,
Arizona Motorcycle Cop Caught Texting at 80 Mph
An Arizona motorcycle
police officer was recently photographed texting while driving his
police motorcycle on the highway and has been identified as
fourteen-year veteran officer, Heith Fink. The controversial picture was
taken by Justin Argall, who says the officer was not only reading the
texts, but texting back for several miles. Argall posted the picture to
Facebook and claimed that the officer was exceeding 80 mph on U.S.
Highway 60 where the posted speed limit is 65 mph.
The Tempe police department confirmed the identity of Officer Fink and said that he has been disciplined for the incident. The only other discipline Fink has received in the past three years was a verbal reprimand.
The official statement from the Tempe police department says that once the officer was identified, he was disciplined and they now consider the matter closed. It goes on to say that the department does not condone this type of distracted driving and has instituted policies prohibiting texting while operating any motor vehicle. The statement also says that performing any activity while driving, that causes a distraction is extremely dangerous and should be avoided. The department is now training its officers on distracted driving to avoid dangerous situations like this in the future.
While several states have banned all use of hand-held devices while operating a motor vehicle and put penalty measures in place, texting while driving is not illegal in the State of Arizona.
Texting while operating a motor vehicle can increase your risk of having an accident by twenty-three times. In particular, texting motorists put motorcyclists and others in danger. Texting drivers and other distracted drivers kill numerous motorcyclists each and every year. These statistics are so alarming; they prompted one motorcycle attorney to do something about it. To help all drivers realize the dangers of distracted driving, motorcycle accident attorney, Russ Brown, is spearheading a campaign to raise awareness. After seeing so many motorcycle accidents that have been caused by distracted driving, he has launched the "Keep Me Alive, Don't Text and Drive" campaign with the goal of reducing the number of these tragedies that happen every year.
While the texting Arizona motorcycle cop has been disciplined, safety advocates cry that this is not enough. Many want Arizona legislators to pass laws to make texting while driving illegal in the State of Arizona.
The Tempe police department confirmed the identity of Officer Fink and said that he has been disciplined for the incident. The only other discipline Fink has received in the past three years was a verbal reprimand.
The official statement from the Tempe police department says that once the officer was identified, he was disciplined and they now consider the matter closed. It goes on to say that the department does not condone this type of distracted driving and has instituted policies prohibiting texting while operating any motor vehicle. The statement also says that performing any activity while driving, that causes a distraction is extremely dangerous and should be avoided. The department is now training its officers on distracted driving to avoid dangerous situations like this in the future.
While several states have banned all use of hand-held devices while operating a motor vehicle and put penalty measures in place, texting while driving is not illegal in the State of Arizona.
Texting while operating a motor vehicle can increase your risk of having an accident by twenty-three times. In particular, texting motorists put motorcyclists and others in danger. Texting drivers and other distracted drivers kill numerous motorcyclists each and every year. These statistics are so alarming; they prompted one motorcycle attorney to do something about it. To help all drivers realize the dangers of distracted driving, motorcycle accident attorney, Russ Brown, is spearheading a campaign to raise awareness. After seeing so many motorcycle accidents that have been caused by distracted driving, he has launched the "Keep Me Alive, Don't Text and Drive" campaign with the goal of reducing the number of these tragedies that happen every year.
While the texting Arizona motorcycle cop has been disciplined, safety advocates cry that this is not enough. Many want Arizona legislators to pass laws to make texting while driving illegal in the State of Arizona.