As Google Glass has demonstrated, wearable computers give law enforcement officials all sorts of new justifications for handing out tickets to potentially distracted drivers. CTV News reports that Quebec resident Jeffrey Macesin has been slapped with a $120 fine after police noticed him using his Apple Watch while driving. Apparently, Macesin was using his Apple Watch to change the music he was playing in his car when police decided to pull him over.
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Quebec’s highway safety code states that “no person may, while driving a road vehicle, use a hand-held device that includes a telephone function,” although Macesin is arguing that this shouldn’t apply to a device that’s worn on his wrist. CTV News interviewed traffic attorney Avi Levy, who agreed that this portion of the law isn’t clear and that he believes the Apple Watch is “a Bluetooth device that communicates the telephone signal from the phone and it has been established under the law that you are allowed to use Bluetooth devices.”
At any rate, we imagine this will be a precedent-setting case, at least in Canada. That said, you should still be careful to not stare at your Apple Watch while driving because it seems cops are eager to pull you over for it.
