New Jersey Cop in Bush Disguise Issues 74 Tickets in Six Hours

Police in Dunellen, New Jersey, pulled off an unconventional distracted-driving crackdown last month when an officer spent a six-hour shift disguised as a roadside shrub. The undercover cop, planted beside the 100 block of North Washington Avenue—a busy, pedestrian-heavy downtown stretch—was paired with a plain-clothed partner wearing a shirt that bluntly read ‘Not A Cop.’ Together, they radioed descriptions of offending drivers to colleagues stationed down the road, who then pulled over and ticketed the motorists. In just six hours, the duo helped issue 74 citations to distracted drivers. The department shared the results on Facebook, noting the operation’s success in targeting a stretch notorious for foot traffic and vehicle congestion. New Jersey’s distracted-driving laws are among the strictest in the U.S. Drivers caught using a mobile phone for the first time face a minimum $200 fine. A second offense triggers a $400 minimum fine, while a third offense can result in a $600 minimum fine, three license penalty points, and a possible 90-day license suspension. Texting behind the wheel is particularly hazardous, with state data claiming it increases crash risk by 23 times. The sting also coincided with the rare sight of a second-generation Toyota RAV4 EV cruising through the area. Toyota built just 2,500 examples of the RAV4 EV between 2012 and 2014, and the model featured a 41.8 kWh battery pack paired with an induction motor sourced from Tesla. The Japanese automaker had acquired a 3% stake in Tesla in 2010 for roughly $50 million before selling its shares in 2016 for approximately $738 million in profits.