January last year Steven R Spriggs was stopped by police in California, USA for using a smartphone as a navigational aid. As per him, he got stuck in a traffic jam near downtown Fresno and thought nothing of whipping out his iPhone 4 and clicking on the map feature to see if there was an alternate route around the construction mess. He was surprised when he looked up and saw a California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer ordering him to pull over. He showed the officer that he was looking at a map and not texting or talking. He got a $160 ticket. having graduated from a Law school, he obviously sued claiming that it was not explicitly forbidden in the existing legislation covering the use of a mobile phone while driving.
It is reportedly said that he initially brought a paper map to court to argue that it was Legal to hold it while driving. Not persuaded, the traffic court commissioner found him guilty. He appealed to the three-judge panel of Fresno Superior Court, arguing in a legal brief that the iPhone has a flashlight feature and other functions that can be useful to a driver and aren't as dangerous as texting or talking. As he is no 'Jolly LLB'; he again lost.
Fresno County Judge, writing on March 21 for the three-judge panel upholding the commissioner's ruling, said "the primary evil sought to be avoided is the distraction the driver faces when using his or her hands to operate the phone. That distraction would be present whether the wireless telephone was being used as a telephone, a GPS navigator, a clock or a device for sending and receiving text messages and emails." The judge also threw out an argument that the term "using" could not be expanded beyond making a phone call to using a phone app -- ruling that if the law had intended to limit the application of the statute to "conversing" or "listening and talking," then it could have done so.
Fortunately, as of now, the ruling doesn't apply outside of Fresno County. However it opens a bigger debate on Technological advancements v/s archaic Legal Provisions. In this case the driver was holding the smart phone while using the application. What happens when the smartphone is mounted on cradle. Someone may argue that one can talk on speaker phone even while not holding the phone in hand. So ultimately what seems more important to me is the intent. Else, why should a person spent and keep different devices, when a phone can serve as clock, music player, navigator, climate indicator etc........
This post first appeared on Telecom Trackers - Latest News In Telecom Sector, please read the originial post: here
