Yesterday, the West Bridgewater police stopped 78 individuals for texting and driving along Route 106 in a planned operation.

The police had spotters along the road from 3pm to 6pm. When a spotter suspected that a driver was using a mobile device they alerted a uniformed officer to pull them over.

According to Southcoast Today, Lieutenant Flaherty said “It’s very difficult for the spotters to tell if they are texting, reading text, roaming the Internet, or making a phone call or using GPS"  explaining that out of fairness, officers ask to see individuals’ phones before issuing a citation.

Of the 78 people stopped, 43 were released, 34 people were cited and fined, and one was issued a citation for driving with a suspended license.

Now our question here at Fun107 is,  if you are pulled over by a police officer for texting and driving do you have to show them your phone?

According to Massachusetts State Law, composing, reading, or sending electronic messages while driving is prohibited, and violators will be charged $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second, and $500 for a third offense. But using a GPS on your phone on dialing a number is not illegal so how would an officer know what you were doing?

One of our interns asked the West Bridgewater Police and this is how they responded.

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It is interesting to learn a little more about this safety law that had now been active in Massachusetts for many years.

Additional Reporting by Kiah Heron

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