Ontario Judge Finds Woman Guilty of Distracted Driving for Looking at Apple Watch

[laptech]

It is a shame to read many comments in here that people are against the police officer for taking the action that he did because in doing so they are basically saying what the driver was doing was OK.

It's not OK, being distracted in a car while driving or temporary motionless in traffic can kill. There have been far too many safety studies done to prove that being distracted in a car can kill because you do not have enough time to react to an emergency.

 

[Vjosullivan]

What if they’re lost.

If you're lost, pull over and sort it out. Don't just sit in front of a green traffic light and start twiddling knobs.

 

[ProTruckDriver]

There’s no need to use a smart watch or phone while driving.

The time is on your dashboard. Your phone calls and messages can wait for the length of the journey. Notifications won’t suddenly disappear.

I think it’s selfish that drivers are willing to put others at risk just to keep ‘check’ on their social lives, when for many of these messages/apps, the only way to respond appropriately is to use a phone in the first place.

Totally agree with you. I have seen too many Distracted Driving accidents in the years I have been driving over the road.
When Driving: "Get Your Head Out Of Your Apps."

 

[vintagebob]

I, personally, am not a fan of distracted drivers. I-12 Baton Rouge.

 

[solipsism]

Raise to wake with your arm on the steering wheel or an incoming message could cause the screen to glow. Unless he sees her actually interacting with the Watch (like manipulating it with her other hand) it should not be illegal.

 

[goonie4life9]

You can’t hit someone if your car is stopped, so this isn’t an issue of “distracted driving.” She could have just as easily not started driving at the green light if she was doing other things that are legal: looking at a map, inputting information into her car’s GPS, changing music on her radio, reading a book, etc. There is nothing in the story that indicates she was using her device while actually driving. Incidentally, in many locations, using a device while you’re anywhere on the road is considered illegal (yes, this includes pulling over to use your device).

There is a clear difference between using your device while stopped and using your device while moving. The second is problematic not because it involves a device but because it involves driving PLUS doing something else that takes your attention away from driving (all of the empirical data indicates it is distraction per se, not device distraction only, that is the problem). Unfortunately, humans overly respond to immediacy, and so laws are written to deal with the current zeitgeist (in this case, devices) rather than the process-level issue (distraction).

If you're lost, pull over and sort it out. Don't just sit in front of a green traffic light and start twiddling knobs.

 

[Smartass]

Could she have just been checking the time? How many ppl get a ticket because of being distracted by their fast food drive through pickup or a loud song on the radio? I bet hardly any.

I’m against cell phone being used in cars by drivers but this seems a bit much. What about phones clipped to the dashboard for navigation? Are those banned too?

You got time displayed in every car on location that enables you to still see the road well. Looking at any watch for any kinds of reasons is the same as looking into a phone. It's not the device that matters, but the distraction it causes to the driver. Even one second can be enough to cause an accident.

 

[Johnston@]

I don’t condone distracted driving at all. Having said that, there are levels and influences surrounding this topic to consider. Being 4 seconds late to move on a light in my opinion can be due to a myriad of reasons. Glancing at a smart watch 4 times can’t be definitively proven as distraction. This is a judgment call. The bigger picture suggests that the targeting of smart devices as the primary reason for distracted driving is narrow minded. GPS devices were mentioned in a few of the replies. Let’s be honest, if looking at your smart watch at a red light is distracted driving, then so is using a GPS. How about glancing at your speedometer at 100kph? How much ground did your vehicle travel in that split second while you glance down. You were distracted. Is the government liable for setting a speed limit you we’re trying to comply with by comparing that roadside sign to your speedometer? Changing the radio station. Glancing at your review mirror. Checking left and right when going through an intersection... eyes not ahead...distracted. Let’s talk about automobile manufactures and all the tech they are putting into vehicles such as CarPlay that take the focus off the road... built in yes, still takes eyes off the road and distracts people. The question is possibly... who is really to blame for distraction? If I crashed my car because I was using tech that distracted me, that an automobile manufacturer put in my car that supposedly is to make it safer, are they liable? Is the city liable for my distraction because I looked at a road sign to make sure I am abiding by laws of the road? There’s a bigger issue here.

 

[JosephAW]

This is why we need Face ID for the watch...oh wait, never mind

 

[Shirasaki]

Well, time to turn off EVERYTHING and drive blind or try to remember every single direction to go before even turning on the vehicle, or frequently stop to double check, or do whatever. Drivers will and should find a way to continue use electronic devices WITHOUT risking others lives, I suppose.

The time to enter the vehicle is the time to keep silent. Even talking to others is a distraction. No radio. No GPS. Nothing. Will this help? Perhaps.

 

[Bstephens]

That’s why we to keep working on autonomous driving to take human error out.

I don’t condone distracted driving at all. Having said that, there are levels and influences surrounding this topic to consider. Being 4 seconds late to move on a light in my opinion can be due to a myriad of reasons. Glancing at a smart watch 4 times can’t be definitively proven as distraction. This is a judgment call. The bigger picture suggests that the targeting of smart devices as the primary reason for distracted driving is narrow minded. GPS devices were mentioned in a few of the replies. Let’s be honest, if looking at your smart watch at a red light is distracted driving, then so is using a GPS. How about glancing at your speedometer at 100kph? How much ground did your vehicle travel in that split second while you glance down. You were distracted. Is the government liable for setting a speed limit you we’re trying to comply with by comparing that roadside sign to your speedometer? Changing the radio station. Glancing at your review mirror. Checking left and right when going through an intersection... eyes not ahead...distracted. Let’s talk about automobile manufactures and all the tech they are putting into vehicles such as CarPlay that take the focus off the road... built in yes, still takes eyes off the road and distracts people. The question is possibly... who is really to blame for distraction? If I crashed my car because I was using tech that distracted me, that an automobile manufacturer put in my car that supposedly is to make it safer, are they liable? Is the city liable for my distraction because I looked at a road sign to make sure I am abiding by laws of the road? There’s a bigger issue here.

 

[Shirasaki]

I don’t condone distracted driving at all. Having said that, there are levels and influences surrounding this topic to consider. Being 4 seconds late to move on a light in my opinion can be due to a myriad of reasons. Glancing at a smart watch 4 times can’t be definitively proven as distraction. This is a judgment call. The bigger picture suggests that the targeting of smart devices as the primary reason for distracted driving is narrow minded. GPS devices were mentioned in a few of the replies. Let’s be honest, if looking at your smart watch at a red light is distracted driving, then so is using a GPS. How about glancing at your speedometer at 100kph? How much ground did your vehicle travel in that split second while you glance down. You were distracted. Is the government liable for setting a speed limit you we’re trying to comply with by comparing that roadside sign to your speedometer? Changing the radio station. Glancing at your review mirror. Checking left and right when going through an intersection... eyes not ahead...distracted. Let’s talk about automobile manufactures and all the tech they are putting into vehicles such as CarPlay that take the focus off the road... built in yes, still takes eyes off the road and distracts people. The question is possibly... who is really to blame for distraction? If I crashed my car because I was using tech that distracted me, that an automobile manufacturer put in my car that supposedly is to make it safer, are they liable? Is the city liable for my distraction because I looked at a road sign to make sure I am abiding by laws of the road? There’s a bigger issue here.

This is another example of tech outruns law and rules. Sure. Distracted driving must be prohibited. But to what extent? How to categorise this? How dangerous it could be? Guess some followup researches could help here. I feel that people are defining distracted driving too wide. You know, when I try to see the content of a board showing the direction while driving at 100kph, I am not seeing the road and surroundings. That is distracted driving. Such behaviour can be traced way back to 1800 I guess, when electronic device was not even a thing. Oh never mind. Vehicles were way slower at that time. I forgot it. Dumb.

 

[rotlex]

As an avid motorcyclist, and someone who has been rear ended at a traffic light due to a "distracted driver", I'm a HUGE proponent of MUCH stricter laws regarding any device that distracts the operator while driving. Honestly, it's so far out of hand I can barely control my anger when discussing it with others.

I don't know how many times I'm commuting to work and see people doing 80+ with a cell phone being held in their hands right on the steering wheel. Honestly, this kind of idiocy should be met with the same fines and penalties as drunk driving. For where I am, I believe that's loss of license for at least 6 months and a 10K fine. Hell, maybe even more.

The fact that I can get a fine and lose my license for having maybe 2 beers and then driving is ludicrous compared to someone engaged in a text conversation while moving.

 

[apolloa]

Just so you lot know, I do believe that if you are caught and considered to be driving dangerously or without due care and attention because you are fiddling with your cars own built in infotainment system or settings system, you will be fined and punished as such. The laws are perfectly clear, Pull Over! Because people die every day due to distracted driving.

And sitting at traffic lights is not pulled over so is still considered to be breaking the law. It is illegal to eat or drink whilst at traffic lights in the U.K. also.

If drivers didn’t hit others or kill themselves or kill and injur others on regular occasions whilst fiddling with electronic devices, their wouldn’t be a problem. But facts are facts and they do. So if you don’t like these fines and laws, tell people to stop being utter selfish idiots on the roads!

 

[2010mini]

There’s no need to use a smart watch or phone while driving.

The time is on your dashboard. Your phone calls and messages can wait for the length of the journey. Notifications won’t suddenly disappear.

I think it’s selfish that drivers are willing to put others at risk just to keep ‘check’ on their social lives, when for many of these messages/apps, the only way to respond appropriately is to use a phone in the first place.

No need? Really???

Because Law Enforcement routinely ask to report an emergency even while driving. Calling 911 is exempt from distracted driving laws (at least where I live)

 

[groadyho]

I was rear ended and my car was totalled by an iPhone user who was distracted. She admitted to being on her Iphone talking and didn't see the red light. Irks me to no end seeing people staring at their phones going 75 on the highway. The voice nav in our car works as well as Google maps anyway and comes across the car speakers even turns the volume of music down. So does Google maps but either way I don't need look at a cell phone for nav .

 

[bootamac]

A Canadian woman has been found guilty of distracted driving for looking at her Apple Watch, despite claims that she was just checking the time while waiting for a red light to change (via The National Post).

A judge in the Ontario Court of Justice ordered University of Guelph student Victoria Ambrose to pay a $400 fine, after determining that she had spent too much time staring at her smartwatch while being in control of a vehicle.

According to court documents, the woman was ticketed after a police officer noticed the glow from an electronic gadget coming from the woman's car, which was stationary beside his cruiser at a red light.

The officer reported that he saw the woman look up and down at the device four times in 20 seconds, and then fail to move forward when the light turned green. The officer then shone a light into her car and she began to drive. When he pulled her over, he realized that she had been looking at an Apple Watch.

In Ontario, it is illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices, such as smartphones, portable media players, GPS systems and laptops.

Previously, the province had not designated the Apple Watch or other smartwatches as being illegal to use while operating a motor vehicle. However, in judging Ambrose's case, Justice of the Peace Lloyd Phillipps rejected her argument that the Apple Watch being on her wrist satisfies an exemption for devices securely mounted inside the vehicle.
Safety tests carried out in the U.K. in 2015 concluded that using a smartwatch while driving is more dangerous than using a smartphone.

According to the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL), a driver reading a message on an Apple Watch would take 2.52 seconds to react to an emergency maneuver, whereas a driver talking to another passenger reacts in 0.9 seconds.

Article Link: Ontario Judge Finds Woman Guilty of Distracted Driving for Looking at Apple Watch

The police don't make laws their job is law enforcement. If I were a judge I would find the person guilty and since there seems to be misunderstanding in regard to smart watches would have reduced the fine.

 

[bopajuice]

Could she have just been checking the time? How many ppl get a ticket because of being distracted by their fast food drive through pickup or a loud song on the radio? I bet hardly any.

I’m against cell phone being used in cars by drivers but this seems a bit much. What about phones clipped to the dashboard for navigation? Are those banned too?

I don't know about you but the last 10 cars I have owned all had clocks in the dash.

 

[jedwards87]

A Canadian cop looking to make his ticket quota and trying to impress his bosses how sad cops have nothing better to do.
look out next tickets for breathing too long.

So let me get this straight. A cop that is doing his job and following the law is bad in your opinion ? Nothing better to do ? Really ? Because to me he is doing EXACTLY what he was hired to do. Get a life. Oh and sign up to be a cop. I bet your whole ridiculous attitude towards them would change once in their shoes.

 

[bopajuice]

I was rear ended and my car was totalled by an iPhone user who was distracted. She admitted to being on her Iphone talking and didn't see the red light. Irks me to no end seeing people staring at their phones going 75 on the highway.

Just the other day someone started drifting into my lane. Looked over and observed the driver looking at their phone. When I blasted my horn, they looked over briefly, swerved back into their lane but kept looking at their phone. Awful to think their text or tweet was more important than my life.

I drive a lot of miles per year. I can tell from a distance if the driver is distracted. Not just drifting into other lanes, but slowing down to 10 miles per hour under the speed limit. Used to think it was a drunk driver. Not anymore. 9 our of 10 times when I pass the vehicle I see someone looking at their phone.

 

[RaceTripper]

Busted! I don't think I've had a car in the last 40 years that didn't have a working clock in the dash. I never look at my Apple Watch while driving.

They need to start busting people here too. Good job CA!

 

[ThisBougieLife]

This seems more like something that deserves a “move it” beep from the car behind her rather than a fine, but I understand why she was ticketed. (Can’t tell you how many times I have to lightly honk at someone who doesn’t go at a green light. I always see them looking down, probably at a phone).

 

[manu chao]

And sitting at traffic lights is not pulled over so is still considered to be breaking the law. It is illegal to eat or drink whilst at traffic lights in the U.K. also.!

I don't think that is a universally adopted rule around the world.

 

[ChromeAce]

This is what happens there is zero crime and the cops are bored in white neighborhoods. Stories like this are a distraction from far more pressing dangers like climate change, Russian-bought elections, alcohol, tobacco, and assault weapons.

 

[nsayer]

$400 is not enough. Make it $4000 and maybe people will get a clue. And yes, it makes sense to me that a smart watch is potentially more distracting considering how small the screen is for Reading. The key point is that she was distracted and didn’t react to the light.

No. The correct answer is for it to be a weekend in jail. That way there's no profit motive for the police department.

If you don't believe traffic enforcement is driven by revenue, then you must be unaware of the many, many municipalities caught cheating on yellow light duration when red light cameras were installed.