Everyone knows that talking on your cellphone while driving will get you a ticket in most places, but one driver in Canada recently found himself taking heat from the police after he was caught tapping his Apple Watch while behind the wheel.
According to a report from CTV News, police in Quebec gave Jeffery Macesin a $120 fine and four demerit after he was seen using his Apple Watch to change music.
“There was a cop car behind me and he didn’t have his lights on yet, but then he turned them on and I thought maybe he just wanted me to get out of the way. I was just confused,” said Macesin, who was using the Music glance on Apple Watch to control the music playing on his iPhone though the car stereo.
Macesin describes himself as “one of those crazy lunatic” Apple fans who jumped at the chance to pre-order the Apple Watch. He had no idea he was breaking the law at the time he was pulled over, but police slapped him with a ticket, citing Section 439.1 of the Quebec Highway Safety Code that reads: “No person may, while driving a road vehicle, use a hand-held device that includes a telephone function.”
Technically, Macesin wasn’t using a telephone. He was using a wrist-worn devices that connects through a phone, similar to Bluetooth headsets and other devices which are actually legal. The Quebec Highway Safety code leaves smartwatches in a grey area, but Macesin plans to contest the ticket and says he may even hire a lawyer to take up the case.
Source: CTV
Buster Hein is a freelance writer who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Twitter: @bst3r.
7 responses to “Yes, you can get a ticket for using Apple Watch while driving”
Would most cops even know that the Apple watch has telephone capacity? Most people do not. IMO this was a lame charge and demonstrates that laws need to be better defined for newer technology. There are many worse things that distract drivers – changing radio stations, looking at GPS map, reaching for your coffee cup – even resetting the time on your non smart watch.
But then again, maybe the guy made fun of the cop’s Samsung phone. /s
Let’s not forget the language specifies ‘hand-held’, whereas a watch is a wrist-mounted device.
Hope he contests it big time. The AW is explicitly designed for brief interactions, most of which as less than adjusting the A/C, using nav system, or in-car media controls. As the author notes, even if the interaction was to answer the phone via Bluetooth, it’s the same or less than an ear mounted one. And making a call is completely handsfree. Are watches illegal too because you have to tap them to turn on a back-light (or, if old-school LED, tap to read)? It’s gotta end somewhere.
Not in California. The statute only covers text messaging, and has been successfully challenged in court for use of maps, etc.
I have found that looking at my Apple Watch while driving is very distracting. Far more so then touching a button or two on the dash. The big problem is I wear glasses, so I have to look over the lens to focus on the Watch at 12″. At that point my eyes are focused near and must readjust to far distance once I look back at the road. That doesn’t happen when I interact with the dash buttons, and those I’m not reading text.
So I simply ignore my Watch as I drive, at least visually.
Even though I agree it can be distracting, why should that be apple’s fault? They’re not advertising the watch to be used while driving. By that logic, you could sue any company that makes anything that fits in a car.
You guys are morons. Maybe YOU should try to educate people, instead of filing this frivolous lawsuit (which you will lose anyway). Enjoy wasting your money!