Submitted by Linda Young 8-7-26
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Cops Imitating Plants Catch 74 Drivers on Their Phones in Six Hours
The Boys in Blue Went Green for a Crackdown on Distracted Drivers.
Published Aug 1, 2026 3:32 PM EDT “The Drive”
If you’re driving through suburban New Jersey and see shrubbery holding a pair of binoculars, you’re not hallucinating. You’re just doing what you should be doing: paying attention to the road.
In an effort to catch more drivers illegally using their phones, police in the central New Jersey town of Dunellen got creative. One officer dressed up in a sniper-style ghillie suit and stood next to an extra-leafy tree on one of the town’s main streets, keeping an eye out for drivers who were holding their phones in violation of a statewide ban. According to a Facebook post from the Dunellen Borough Police Department, this unorthodox method led to 74 citations for distracted driving in six hours.
As if getting busted by a cop dressed as a plant isn’t embarrassing enough, the post also includes a photo of a guy with a walkie-talkie wearing a “Not a Cop” t-shirt. You’d have to really not be paying attention to fall for that one.
Modern cars offer many forms of distraction but the reflexive need to look at a phone when that notification chime dings exists even when driving the most low-tech vehicles. And it’s been linked to higher rates of rear-end collisions and speeding in separate Insurance Institute for Highway Safety studies.
NOTE For those of us who are non-commercial drivers in Oklahoma, there is no statewide law that prohibits simply talking on a handheld cell phone while driving. However, there are important exceptions and related restrictions:
· Texting while driving is illegal for ALL drivers in Oklahoma. This includes writing, sending, or reading text-based communications while operating a vehicle.
So put down the phone and focus on driving. That way you won’t have to be suspicious of every bush standing along the roadside.