BS BRIEFING:
- A New Jersey police officer disguised as a shrub helped issue 74 distracted-driving citations during a six-hour enforcement operation in Dunellen, New Jersey. The sting targeted motorists violating the state’s handheld cellphone law.
- The Dunellen Police Department said the unusual tactic was designed to improve safety, reminding drivers, “That text or notification can wait. Keep your eyes on the road, not your screen!”
- Distracted driving continues to be one of the leading causes of preventable crashes, and police departments are getting increasingly creative in catching offenders.
NEW JERSEY’S MOST PRODUCTIVE SHRUB WRITES 74 TICKETS
Forget speed traps.
New Jersey police have apparently entered the landscaping business.
The Dunellen Police Department deployed one of its officers Wednesday in a full ghillie suit, transforming him into what looked like an oversized roadside shrub to catch drivers glued to their phones.
The leafy disguise worked.
During the six-hour operation, officers issued 74 citations to motorists caught using handheld devices while driving.
“Our ‘shrub’ was busy,” the department joked on social media after the sting. “We issued 74 citations to drivers distracted by their devices in a six-hour window.”
Photos from the operation show the camouflaged officer standing near the roadway with binoculars, quietly spotting distracted drivers before radioing nearby officers to make the traffic stops.
Under New Jersey law, drivers caught using a handheld cellphone face fines ranging from $200 to $400 for a first offense, with stiffer penalties for repeat violations. The enforcement campaign was funded as part of the state’s ongoing distracted-driving crackdown supported through federal highway safety grants.
The department ended its post with a simple reminder: “That text or notification can wait. Keep your eyes on the road, not your screen!”
Reaction online was almost as entertaining as the operation itself.
Many social media users applauded the creativity, while Reddit commenters joked that “if you’re distracted enough to drive past a swamp monster and never notice him, you probably earned the ticket.” Others argued that distracted drivers have become far more dangerous than speeders because so many motorists now spend more time looking at their phones than the highway.
MY TAKE:
I have to admit it. This made me laugh.
Somewhere, a police chief looked at his officers and said, “Gentlemen… I need one of you to become a bush.”
And apparently somebody raised his hand.
Normally, conservatives aren’t exactly thrilled when law enforcement gets cute with traffic enforcement. But distracted driving is different.
Every one of us has watched the car in front drift across the center line… sit through a green light… or brake for absolutely no reason… only to discover the driver is conducting a full-scale text conversation.
If it takes Officer Shrub to wake people up, so be it.
This operation only worked because the drivers weren’t paying attention. A grown man dressed like decorative landscaping stood next to the road with binoculars—and dozens of motorists never noticed.
That says less about police creativity than it does about how completely we’ve surrendered our attention to glowing little screens.
Maybe the next enforcement campaign will feature Officer Mailbox. Or Detective Fire Hydrant.
Judging by Wednesday’s results, they’d probably stay pretty busy too.
DBS WIRE SOURCES:
- New York Post – NJ cop disguises himself as a shrub to bust 74 distracted drivers
- Dunellen Police Department
- NHTSA/New Jersey Distracted Driving Enforcement Grant Program
