One year after the state legislature voted to prohibit drivers from holding cell phones while driving, an 11Alive viewer caught someone red-handed – and that driver happened to be a Georgia state legislator.
Jim Shumake was stuck in standstill traffic, Wednesday, heading south on the Downtown Connector, when he noticed Rep. Sam Park (D-Lawrenceville) next to him in the HOV lane by himself, talking on a cell phone.
Shumake said he recognized the lawmaker because he had an official tag on his car – SR 101, for "State Representative, District 101."
“He was not only on his phone, he was driving without hands on the wheel, having a deep conversation in the HOV lane,” Shumake said. “If that was anybody else, we would have been pulled over or received a ticket.”