A woman driver in California was caught red-handed, allegedly texting and driving with no hands on the wheel at 85 miles per hour. Without her noticing him, a cop was driving right next to her, which inevitably led to a traffic stop.
Some footage of the traffic stop was shared online by Wiley Jawhary. He is not the police officer shown in the video, but rather a TV news reporter who often shares viral stories. The clip attached above certainly fits the bill, as it garnered 6.1 million views, 703,400 likes, and more than 3,300 comments on TikTok alone.
An officer with the California Highway Patrol was spotted behind the wheel, observing another driver to his left. The individual handling the camera then zoomed in on the female driver in question, who is clearly seen texting on her cellphone with both of her hands. Of course, the steering wheel was left entirely untouched.
Then, the officer provided a bit of context, saying, “We’ve watched it for about 10 seconds. We’re traveling at 85 miles per hour.” He then said that they were driving in a 55 mph construction zone. This placed the woman shown in the clip 30 miles above the speed limit.
“We’ll go ahead and make a traffic enforcement stop on her,” the officer said.
Traffic Stop Conducted
The clip then cut tot he officer talking to the driver in question. He confronted her about the fact that she had no hands on the steering wheel but on her cellphone, with her thumbs moving vigorously.
“I’ve watched you for about 10 to 15 seconds just constantly doing that,” the California man continued. “Until finally put your left hand back on the steering wheel.”
The officer then requested the woman’s driver’s license, registration, and insurance documents. Then, he asked her if she had been issued a citation before, and the woman answered, “Yeah.”
A Crowd, Divided
The video sparked multiple responses.
Some viewers were totally on the officer’s side, choosing to blast the woman given the video evidence shown in the clip. One viewer said, “She 100% told her friends that she was pulled over for no reason.” Another one commented, “As a trucker, I see this every day.”
Others, however, defended the woman, arguing that her vehicle made her driving safe. One person wrote, “That car has adaptive cruise with steering assist.” Another one added, “And she’s driving completely fine, so what’s the problem?” Other viewers, however, pointed out the speed and the texting, which is, in fact, not allowed while driving, even with steering assist.
In the end, Wiley Jawhary detailed that the driver only got a ticket violation. The cop, according to him, gave her a “big break” regarding the speed.
