Question about driving & MDT's

[atoyot]

I'm new to this board and wish to express my deepest respect for those who serve our communities. I have a question about the frequency of accidents in patrol cars or other first-responder vehicles that are equipped with data terminals.

What brought this about is that I'm in a discussion on another forum (unrelated to law enforcement) discussing the NTSB's recommendation that states outlaw texting and hand-held cell phone use. Some of the nay-sayers are arguing to the effect, "...but...but...LOOK! The police use Computers in their cars, doesn't that cause accidents?"*

My position is the obvious one: You officers out there are professionals and the MDT is but one part of a job that requires multitasking in so many other ways as well. Nonetheless, would anyone here care to offer a source or a cite that shows an accident rate for vehicles where the MDT was being used at the time? Or even a source that shows accidents involving first responders compared to those among the general public.

I know it's a bit abstract but I want to shut some people up, authoritatively, not through pure conjecture.*

Be safe.

[retdetsgt]

We better damn well not get into an accident while we're playing on the MDT. My department cracked down on preventable accidents a long time ago.

[1depd]

I don't know if that statistic is tracked or not. When my agency switched from MDTs to laptops, it took approximately 2-3 weeks to become a decent typist with one hand. The keyboards now have nubs that make it easy to find where your hand is and many agencies have audible tones when something shows up. Typing with one hand without looking at the keyboard is very easy and reviewing what was typed takes less than a second (about as long as it takes to look to locate a radio knob), once you are proficient with the system layout.

[mcsap]

I don't know of any.studies that can say good or bad about mdt use. I do know we are exempt from any hand held cell phone restrictions . We are also exempt from a number of other laws like speeding , red lights etc.

I think it is fair to say that we are allowed to do this based on the needs of our Job. But while we can do this , we are held to a higher standard in the event something goes wrong

We use our cell phones whole driving as part of our emergency services job. We are not idly chatting as the public is. So while some may say we are no safer than the average person in that regard , we need to ne able to do it anyway and assume the risk in doing so in order to be able to respond to situations better.

[Samuel]

Distracted driving is distracted driving, no matter what the cause (using a phone, texting, fiddling with something on your passenger seat, adjusting the radio or NAV, typing on the MDT/MDC, etc) - just like driving impaired is driving impaired (alcohol/controlled substance related, prescription drug/medication related, simple fatigue/sleepiness related, etc). IMnshO, most LEOs are better trained to handle multi-tasking/distracted driving than most non-LEOs. That being said, accidents have occurred and do occur while we focus on/use our MDTs while driving. That being said, I would get the farm that there have been WAY more accidents JUST FROM people looky-louing while driving by LEOs performing their duties than LEOs crashing while using their MDTs (and that's not even talking about all the drunks ramming into our vehicles).

[JoetheGI]

Distracted driving is distracted driving, no matter what the cause...

Agree.

Mythbusters did a segment on distracted driving using cell phones. The results were as you would expect, and as what most of us observe on the road...

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While not an LEO, my military duties required the ability to relay information via radio while on foot, and through radio and a system similar to the police MDT in vehicles. There are times when any request for information would go unanswered due to the fact that my attention needed to be focused elsewhere. While the communication tools are an asset, and a vital part of the job, they can definitely be distracting if you allow them to be, and distraction can result in severe, if not fatal, consequences.

One of the most important things you can learn about communication tools is when NOT to use them. This is lost on most folks with cell phones, and why I support banning their use while driving.

[MikeG]

We use our cell phones whole driving as part of our emergency services job. We are not idly chatting as the public is.

I've seen the cell phone bill. You must work in a different area . As it was explained to me, MDT has texting functions and it's not used much because it's logged .

I'm not a LEO but personally, distracted driving is up to the driver. Police or not, everyone has control over what they allow themselves to be distracted by. Kids, CD player, cell phone, radio, passenger, etc, can all be distractions. It's all about situational awareness and prioritizing whether it's a soccer mom or police officer.

I'd also be skeptical of any study unless they also controlled for fatigue and population density. The 4th day of the weekend night shift is going to have lots of tired people driving. Not sure whether you would attribute an accident to fatigue or distracted driving. Anybody who's been falling down tired is much more easily distracted. I'd be curious as to the accident rate of LEOs in their POV on the way home from their last shift.

[ET109]

I try to use the MDT only when safe... i.e. stopped at a light. Not always, though- if I'm typing in a license plate, I can't stop and do it if I want it to be of any use.

If I crash, it's my butt. I don't think we keep statistics on it, but we don't have many departmental accidents... surprisingly.

[retdetsgt]

I don't know of any.studies that can say good or bad about mdt use. I do know we are exempt from any hand held cell phone restrictions . We are also exempt from a number of other laws like speeding , red lights etc.

Oregon exempts anyone who uses their vehicle as an office too, which I think is stupid. Just because you use your phone for your job doesn't mean you're any more attentive to your driving. Studies have also shown that hands free isn't all that much better either.

I can't count the number of times I've followed people who were talking on their cell phones while driving and it was obvious they had their heads up their butts. I've watched them go through stop signs, pull out into traffic w/o looking and all sorts of dumb stuff because they were so engaged in their phone conversations.

I have always wondered though why it's so much different talking to someone on the phone as opposed to talking to someone in the car with you, but it sure is.

[1depd]

I think the difference is when someone is in your car with you, they can see why you stop talking. When you are on the phone you get into the phone mindset and don't want to stop talking. As a result instead of having your phone conversation be the secondary item going on your driving becomes secondary.

[greg72982]

I almost wacked a deer a few weeks ago when I was looking at mine. I glanced back at the road and there he was, broadside. It was his fault though, deer are supposed to be in the woods not standing in the middle of the road.

[MikeG]

I've watched them go through stop signs, pull out into traffic w/o looking and all sorts of dumb stuff because they were so engaged in their phone conversations.

I have always wondered though why it's so much different talking to someone on the phone as opposed to talking to someone in the car with you, but it sure is.

I noticed that my passengers release terrifying screams and slam on their imaginary brakes more than people I talk to on the phone.

[atoyot]

Thanks, everyone. Your replies are about what I'd expect - that professionalism and situational awareness necessary for the job overcome what would typically be more hazardous than the random high school kid rolling along, yapping away.

Have a safe season and a great new year.

[cntryboy0531]

At my department we are not allowed to just indiscriminately use it while driving for anything. We are allowed to use it for essential, Law Enforcement purposes while driving. Not talking to your buddies on our department instant messanger software, but limited to running tags, persons, and getting call information while driving. I'll run tags and drivers while driving, but I've got my laptop and software setup so that it's a bit easier for me to do while not looking, or doing very limited looking. Still, preferably, I'd like to not look at it and fiddle with it while driving, but sometimes, I have to. Either way, driving ALWAYS comes first.

With this said, if we crash and we were found at fault and looking/typing while driving, we are still held responsible for it even if we were using it for an "acceptable" reason. They happen occasionally unfortunately, but are relatively rare.