GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn.- If you're a driver, you've likely seen someone distracted behind the wheel and maybe even that someone was you.
KARE 11's Alicia Lewis followed along with the Minnesota State Patrol for our #eyesUP campaign to see exactly what they are looking for when it comes to distracted driving.
"I've seen people reading the newspaper, I've seen people putting makeup on... driving is a big responsibility," said Trooper Al Thompson, who tells us it is something many of us take for granted.
"Sir, I noticed you were a little distracted this morning with all of the papers you were fumbling through your hand when you went passed me there," Trooper Thompson tells a distracted motorist.
Trooper Thompson says he pulls over a handful of distracted drivers like this one on a daily basis.
"He had both hands off of his steering wheel and he was holding paperwork and he was actually fumbling through the paperwork as he was driving," said Thompson.
Fumbling through paperwork, not something you think can be dangerous but in this case, when you're behind the wheel, this motorist was not only putting himself in danger but everyone in his path.
"He admitted he did some bad driving and promised not to do it again," said Thompson.
We can only hope this will change one's behavior but as Trooper Thompson says they're always on the lookout for distracted motorists.
"I look for vehicles weaving back and fourth, typical for people texting and driving, they are so focused on their text message, they forgot about driving the vehicle and drift from lane to lane," said Thompson.
The cell phone, one of the biggest culprits to the distracted driving epidemic, is the reason Trooper Thompson pulled over one young female driver.
"Alright ma'am, just a warning this morning and a reminder that driving is a big responsibility, we need to focus on the road and not on our phones," Thompson said.
A viewer reached out to KARE 11's Alicia Lewis about the computers that law enforcement officers and troopers use behind the wheel wondering if that is a distraction. Trooper Thompson says according to state laws they are allowed to have a computer there but they are not exempt if they are involved in a crash because of it.