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Getting ticket in car using Apple Watch
- Thread starter Zune55
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If not then hopefully they adjust the laws to make it so people can get a ticket for it as it distracts you from your driving.
Then using ANY wrist watch would be illegal, using a navigation system or tuning the radio would also be illegal.
Checking an Apple Watch is not any more dangerous. Reading and responding to a text message IS, but where do we draw the line? Are you saying eating and drinking in the car are illegal? Are you saying that having a conversation with someone is illegal? How about driving with a child - they require constant looks to see if they're still in their car seat.
It has already happened in Canada.
I think it's a real concern, especially when people start playing videos on their watches. But I don't think people have to keep looking at their watches or tap them if they use voice activation.
I think it's a real concern, especially when people start playing videos on their watches. But I don't think people have to keep looking at their watches or tap them if they use voice activation.
Using an apple watch to read a text or other notification is a lot more distracting than just looking at a regular watch to tell the time. So I would say we draw the line at any smart device. hopefully we get automated cars for too long and then you can do whatever you want while the car drives you.
Ummm...no.
You have to draw the line somewhere, and right now many cities prohibit the use of handheld devices that have the ability to make or respond to phone calls and distract you for extended periods of time. A regular watch obviously doesn't do this, and there are no statistics to suggest there are a significant number of deaths from regular watches or from any of the other regular things you listed in your post above.
Distracted driving is becoming a huge problem now with all these devices. Of course, one can be just as distracted fiddling with Nav screens or car sound systems etc. But the hand held devices and now watches add even more to the mix. I live in Ontario, Canada and they keep increasing the penalties for distracted driving. The problem is not many people are caught, yet, I see it all the time. Hardly a day goes by where I haven't observed the heads bobbing up and down looking at "something" near the steering wheel or the slow wander across the line followed by a quick correction. It's just as bad as drunk driving as far as I'm concerned. Maybe even worse considering that device distraction happens 24/7 vs the typical patterns of drunk driving occurring generally in the early morning hours after parties and on weekends etc.
I think there is a big difference between a regular watch and a smart watch when it comes to distraction. A regular watch does not interact with you and the only thing you can really do is quickly see what time it is. The Apple Watch on the other hand taps you for all variety of reasons. I think most people find the urge to look too hard to resist each time they get tapped.
Personally, I put my AW and iPhone in Do Not Disturb mode when I'm driving.
I think there is a big difference between a regular watch and a smart watch when it comes to distraction. A regular watch does not interact with you and the only thing you can really do is quickly see what time it is. The Apple Watch on the other hand taps you for all variety of reasons. I think most people find the urge to look too hard to resist each time they get tapped.
Personally, I put my AW and iPhone in Do Not Disturb mode when I'm driving.
The vehicle code in California has been adjusted to incorporate any device that can be used as a communication device or in other terms, any device that can receive or send messages.
I personally think using the Apple Watch while driving is more distracting than using my phone while driving. Having to twist your wrist and potentially tap the screen requires both hands off the wheel, phone is just one. The 70 second screen time makes it less of an issue, but just clicking dismiss on an incoming message is very distracting.
I personally think using the Apple Watch while driving is more distracting than using my phone while driving. Having to twist your wrist and potentially tap the screen requires both hands off the wheel, phone is just one. The 70 second screen time makes it less of an issue, but just clicking dismiss on an incoming message is very distracting.
There were several posts not too long after the watch first came out and yes, they got tickets...
When travelling at 65mph for every second you don't look at the road you travel 95 feet blindly. Keep that in mind when trying to use your watches while driving.
Many states are hands free. I am sure this will be pretty easy to ticket someone for. Treat it the same as texting and driving....do not do it!
In Ontario eating and drinking while driving have been illegal for a long time but it was largely ignored. It was one of those laws the cops used when they weren't certain they had you for something else. Now they are watching everything. It's all blanket under "distracted driving."
The most important factor is likely how much sex the cop is getting.
Yup, truth speaker right here!
I'm sure in most North American jurisdictions that have laws against cell phones will, and probably can already, treat it the same as a cell phone. For the record I'm talking about actually touching it or interacting with it through siri requiring you to check what she heard.
Using it as a regular watch or reading the quick 5 word text msg would be hard to nail someone with. Now, if a cop pulls up next to you at a red light and you're sitting there poking at your tiny watch, IMO you deserve a ticket. At that point its probably safer for you to just pull out your phone.
Judging from the wording here in NJ, my guess is yes it is possible however the definition of "use" and "hands free" may in fact include the watch as a legal device. Since the statute excludes touching the device to active it as illegal, dictating messages to the watch or using it as a hands free appear to just the same as using a regular Bluetooth device. If you follow this statute as a checklist, the watch seems fairly compliant within reason. Would probably be easy in court to have this ticket dismissed if someone was using an Apple Watch while driving based on the statutes language.
39:4-97.3 Use of wireless telephone, electronic communication device in moving vehicle; definitions; enforcement.
1. a. The use of a wireless telephone or electronic communication device by an operator of a moving motor vehicle on a public road or highway shall be unlawful except when the telephone is a hands-free wireless telephone or the electronic communication device is used hands-free, provided that its placement does not interfere with the operation of federally required safety equipment and the operator exercises a high degree of caution in the operation of the motor vehicle. For the purposes of this section, an "electronic communication device" shall not include an amateur radio.
b.The operator of a motor vehicle may use a hand-held wireless telephone while driving with one hand on the steering wheel only if:
(1)The operator has reason to fear for his life or safety, or believes that a criminal act may be perpetrated against himself or another person; or
(2)The operator is using the telephone to report to appropriate authorities a fire, a traffic accident, a serious road hazard or medical or hazardous materials emergency, or to report the operator of another motor vehicle who is driving in a reckless, careless or otherwise unsafe manner or who appears to be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A hand-held wireless telephone user's telephone records or the testimony or written statements from appropriate authorities receiving such calls shall be deemed sufficient evidence of the existence of all lawful calls made under this paragraph.
As used in this act, "hands-free wireless telephone" means a mobile telephone that has an internal feature or function, or that is equipped with an attachment or addition, whether or not permanently part of such mobile telephone, by which a user engages in a conversation without the use of either hand; provided, however, this definition shall not preclude the use of either hand to activate, deactivate, or initiate a function of the telephone.
"Use" of a wireless telephone or electronic communication device shall include, but not be limited to, talking or listening to another person on the telephone, text messaging, or sending an electronic message via the wireless telephone or electronic communication device.
39:4-97.3 Use of wireless telephone, electronic communication device in moving vehicle; definitions; enforcement.
1. a. The use of a wireless telephone or electronic communication device by an operator of a moving motor vehicle on a public road or highway shall be unlawful except when the telephone is a hands-free wireless telephone or the electronic communication device is used hands-free, provided that its placement does not interfere with the operation of federally required safety equipment and the operator exercises a high degree of caution in the operation of the motor vehicle. For the purposes of this section, an "electronic communication device" shall not include an amateur radio.
b.The operator of a motor vehicle may use a hand-held wireless telephone while driving with one hand on the steering wheel only if:
(1)The operator has reason to fear for his life or safety, or believes that a criminal act may be perpetrated against himself or another person; or
(2)The operator is using the telephone to report to appropriate authorities a fire, a traffic accident, a serious road hazard or medical or hazardous materials emergency, or to report the operator of another motor vehicle who is driving in a reckless, careless or otherwise unsafe manner or who appears to be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. A hand-held wireless telephone user's telephone records or the testimony or written statements from appropriate authorities receiving such calls shall be deemed sufficient evidence of the existence of all lawful calls made under this paragraph.
As used in this act, "hands-free wireless telephone" means a mobile telephone that has an internal feature or function, or that is equipped with an attachment or addition, whether or not permanently part of such mobile telephone, by which a user engages in a conversation without the use of either hand; provided, however, this definition shall not preclude the use of either hand to activate, deactivate, or initiate a function of the telephone.
"Use" of a wireless telephone or electronic communication device shall include, but not be limited to, talking or listening to another person on the telephone, text messaging, or sending an electronic message via the wireless telephone or electronic communication device.
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