AUTONEWS

This police method has become a hit on the internet

If you recently noticed a shrub staring back at you while driving through downtown Dunellen, New Jersey, you’re probably not losing your mind; you may instead have been looking at a police officer instead of landscaping. If you didn’t notice the shrub because you were looking at your phone, however, you may have been issued a ticket.

The Dunellen Police Department recently took to Facebook to showcase the unconventional approach to distracted driving enforcement. As odd as it sounds, the tactic proved remarkably effective. During a six-hour enforcement detail, officers issued 74 citations to drivers who were allegedly distracted by their phones.

The operation took place along the 100 block of Dunellen’s North Washington Avenue, a busy downtown corridor with heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic. According to the department, the location was selected specifically because of the number of people walking through the area, and the importance of keeping drivers focused on the road.

The undercover officer, hidden in a ghillie-style suit designed to resemble roadside bushes, watched traffic for motorists holding or interacting with their phones. Once a distracted driver was spotted, nearby members of the force stopped the vehicle and issued a citation for violating New Jersey's handheld cell phone law. Even the officers not disguised as greenery played it cool, with at least one wearing a "Not a Cop” T-shirt.

"Did you spot our 'shrub' today? If you had your head buried in your phone, probably not," the department posted Wednesday. 

"To address the elephant, or shrub, in the room, our officer didn't wear a ghillie suit during the entire enforcement detail. The photo was a creative, lighthearted way to draw attention to our safety efforts on social media," Det. Sgt. Nicholas Goldman told CBS News New York. 

In a second photo, the department showed an officer who participated in the crackdown wearing a T-shirt with the message "not a cop." 

It was all part of an effort to catch drivers on their phones. In all, the crackdown resulted in some 74 citations being issued in a six-hour crackdown. 

"While it was a fun thing, the underlying mission is incredibly serious. For a one-square-mile town, we have a relatively high number of accidents, and we were looking for a unique enforcement method," Goldman said. 

"So what we're seeing a lot of is people usually just holding their phones, following either a GPS, or FaceTiming a lot of the time, you know, we did get, unfortunately, see a lot of people holding the phone with two hands and, like, almost driving with their knees, which sounds crazy, but, you know, there's a lot of people that were doing it," Dunellen Borough traffic safety patrolman Kevin Condis said. 

While the camouflage may have drawn a few laughs online, the message behind the operation is serious. Distracted driving remains one of the leading causes of crashes across the United States; according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), it led to 315,167 injuries and 3208 fatalities in 2024 alone.

Whether dressing officers as shrubbery becomes a long-term enforcement strategy remains to be seen, but it certainly succeeded in grabbing drivers' attention. The next time you think about checking a text while driving, remember that the bush on the side of the road may not just be a bush.