Crime & Safety

DOT Program Stops Officers from Distracted Driving

The Iowa Department of Transportation will launch a new program that would disable its enforcement officers' laptops at speeds of 15 miles per hour.

The Iowa Department of Transportation will soon deploy new software that would block its enforcement officers from using their laptops while driving, according to an AP report.

The new software called “Arch Angel” disables the keyboard, laptop and mouse at speeds of 15 miles an hour or more. The DOT expects to deploy the program on Nov. 1.

Disabling the laptops at certain speeds should help reduce distraction and could prevent accidents, according to the DOT.

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A Minnesota State Trooper might have been distracted by his laptop when he blew through a stop sign in November 2011 and crashed into a couple traveling down a rural highway, according to an article in the Star Tribune.

The trooper had been entering information into his squad car's laptop just before the accident, according to the report.

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A similar accident involving a police officer occurred in Austin, TX; in June of 2010, according to KXAN.


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