Bryan County Sheriff’s Office using drones to catch drivers texting, not wearing seatbelts

By Tia Maggio

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    BRYAN COUNTY, Ga. (WJCL) — A groundbreaking — and controversial — move by the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office is catching drivers’ attention, literally from above.

The department has started using drones during traffic stops, targeting drivers who are texting or not wearing seatbelts. The technology is meant to enhance deputy safety and improve enforcement, but it’s also raising serious privacy concerns.

Ever been caught without a seatbelt? Texting behind the wheel?

That’s what happened to Audriana Davis, who had just left a Dollar General in Richmond Hill when she was pulled over.

“I just thought it was crazy. I’ve never even seen anything like that,” she said.

At first, Davis wasn’t sure why she had been stopped.

“I was just like, oh my God, what did I do? He was like, ‘Hey, is there a reason — you don’t have your seat belt on?” David said.

But she quickly realized she’d been watched the entire time — from above.

“He brought the drone down. And I was like, ‘That’s how you caught me?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah,'” she said.

The Bryan County Sheriff’s Office said one deputy surveys an area with the drone to spot traffic violations, and then deploys another deputy to conduct the traffic stop.

“You can see the person sitting in the car, see the person without the seatbelt on, take a still photograph or a video, and then pull them over and say, hey, you didn’t have your seatbelt on,” Bryan County Sheriff Mark Crowe.

Currently, the technology is only being used to enforce laws against texting while driving and not wearing a seatbelt.

Crowe said the drones can zoom in so far, they can even see text messages on people’s phones.

That level of surveillance is exactly what some civil liberties advocates are worried about. But the Sheriff’s Office says the use is legal — and backed by local prosecutors.

“They ran it before our state court solicitor and said, ‘Hey, if we use the drone for this purpose and we do this with it, would you be able to prosecute cases on that?'” Crowe said. “And the solicitor told him absolutely.”

Davis admits the experience was unsettling — but eye-opening.

“Listen, I don’t even pull out of my driveway without putting my seatbelt on, they got me,” Davis said.

The sheriff’s office hopes its drone program will serve as a model for other agencies across the state. They’re also collecting drone footage and traffic violation data to share with state officials.

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