Driving in Minnesota while holding your phone? Cops issue warning, their cameras will get you

ST. PAUL – Cops tooling around Minnesota are now “equipped with cameras” and screens to look at as they hunt distracted drivers, and they are warning folks to “park the phone” –  or else.

The Minnesota Department of Public Safety issued a clear warning to selfish, entitled clowns holding their phone and putting other drivers at risk: We are looking for you, and we have the technology to catch and prosecute you.

So says the agency from up north, and they displayed the tech as they hunted a woman driver (big surprise) allegedly holding her phone as police spied her lawlessness.

“It looks like a car, it drives like a car, but it’s equipped with cameras ready to catch drivers on their phones,” the safety department wrote on social media, as they shared a video of police in a cruiser decked out with cameras and a large screen with multiple viewpoints for the officer to study as he drives.

“Police across Minnesota are looking for distracted drivers,” they continued. “Park the phone.”

Distracted driving is not just illegal in Minnesota, it is now also illegal in Iowa, and police here are looking, too, and have been issuing citations.

It looks like a car, it drives like a car, but it’s equipped with cameras ready to catchdrivers on their phones. Police across Minnesota are looking for distracted drivers.
Park the phone. pic.twitter.com/PcRPEtQNVI

— Minnesota Department of Public Safety (@MnDPS_DPS) July 21, 2025

In Minnesota, distracted driving, including texting while driving, is a petty misdemeanor with fines and potential jail time depending on the severity of the offense. First-time violations can result in a $50 fine, which increases to $275 for subsequent violations. More serious consequences, like criminal charges and potential jail time, can arise if distracted driving leads to injury or death.

In Iowa, the penalty for distracted driving involving handheld cell phone use is a $100 fine, which is a simple misdemeanor and not a moving violation. For drivers under 18, the fine is $50 for cell phone use. More severe penalties, including fines up to $1,000, license suspensions, and potential vehicular homicide charges, can be imposed if distracted driving results in injury or death.