Troopers aim to catch distracted drivers with unmarked vehicles

In July, a 17-year-old driver using Facebook ran a red light and killed a father and his 10-year-old daughter in Sherburne County.

The Minnesota State Patrol says that tragedy could have been prevented if the teenager wasn't distracted, and the patrol is turning up the heat on drivers who text and browse the Internet while driving.

"Distracted driving, primarily texting while driving, is something that the public is harping on us to do something about and with good reason," Minnesota State Patrol Chief Col. Matt Langer said.

Langer announced Monday that police will go undercover with five unmarked cars to catch distracted drivers. Using unmarked vehicles "allows us to be a little be more sneaky" and will target motorists in Mankato, Marshall, Brainerd and the metro area, Langer said.

"If you talk to anybody who drives on our roads they will tell you how frustrating it is to see the level of distraction that occurs every day," he said.

Langer said the proliferation of smartphones and technology in vehicles can be "more alluring for distraction."

In 2014, reckless driving contributed to 61 deaths and more than 7,000 injuries in Minnesota, according to authorities. So far in 2015, 3,467 drivers have been stopped for distracted driving, including eating, playing with children or fumbling with the GPS.

Nineteen percent of all traffic fatalities and serious injuries between 2010 and 2014 were attributed to distracted driving, according to the state patrol.

"We hope with the addition of some unmarked vehicles that the public is less sure of when they can get away with it," he said. "And if they don't think they can get away with it we hope that they pause and consider the ramifications and put their phone down and pay attention."