Sheriffs deputies careful of texting while driving

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office is cracking down on deputies who text and drive. A new policy requires deputies to pull over in order to send a message on their phone. Alachua County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Art Forgey says the penalty for violating this measure can be severe.

“Typically a first offense is he will lose the use of his vehicle for a day and maybe have to pay back any damage he has done to the vehicle, and then it’s a rolling points system depending on how many offenses,” he says

He says no Alachua County deputies have committed this act, probably because they have seen first-hand the damage texting and driving can do.