PARKSVILLE — As the crackdown on cell phone use while driving continues in Oceanside, some motorists may have noticed police officers using their cell phones in seeming contravention of the very law they’re trying to enforce.
However, said Corporal Richard van de Pol, officers are exempt from the cell phone ban — and for good reason, he said.
“Most often we pull over to the side of the road, but there are occasions when a member might be heading to a crime scene and be talking to a potential victim,” he said.
“That’s part of our job. We can’t say to a victim that they should call us back because we have to pull over.”
Van de Pol said police are continuing their crackdown on cell phone use and will be on the lookout for people with their hands up to their ears as they chat — or their eyes on their laps as they text.
— Neil Horner
