(Image source from: Detroit Metro Times)

An undercover Michigan State Police officer this week donned plainclothes and held a cardboard sign at a metro Detroit freeway intersection to catch people who were not wearing their seatbelts.

Though the officer certainly looked like a panhandler holding a sign, a Michigan State Police spokesman would not refer to it as that. He also would not say that the trooper was intended to blend in with the setting to catch more violators.

Merely it certainly worked out that way. MSP says that enforcement at the intersection of I-696 and Southfield Road resulted in 89 tickets issued for failure to wear a seatbelt. A Thursday enforcement endeavor that did not include an MSP trooper in plainclothes at the corner resulted in only 1 ticket for failure to wear a seatbelt. The crackdowns were part of a five-day enforcement effort along M-39 that began on Monday.

The plainclothes trooper is described by MSP as a "spotter" who looks into cars and then radios to a trooper nearby to issue violators a warning or ticket. The trooper's sign read, "Buckle up save a life."

Asked three times whether the intent was for the trooper to blend in to catch more people without seat belts, MSP spokesman Lt. Michael Shaw said each time that, "Their intention is to catch people not wearing their seatbelt." On the third ask, he said: "I know what you're trying to get me to say."

"Overall we found people are still not wearing their seatbelts," says Shaw. "That's the important part for me. We will be dong [this] again for sure."

The M-39 crackdown follows a special enforcement period last month along M-10 the Lodge in downtown Detroit. Shaw says the crackdowns will continue on a weekly or bi-weekly basis this summer at different locations. He says he's not yet sure which area troopers will target next.

By Sowmya Sangam