Google Glass Explorer gets ticketed for driving under the influence of Glass
Technology and the law do not always get along. In the latest example, Cecilia Abadie reports that she was cited by a San Diego police office for wearing Google Glass while driving. She was pulled over because she thought she was in a 75 MPH zone when she was actually supposed to be going no more than 65. (Perhaps she needs better glasses.) But while writing up a ticket the officer got her for a second infraction — “driving with monitor visible to driver” — breaking a law intended to prevent people from watching television in their vehicles. It forbids people from having a video screen in their line of sight unless it’s necessary for operating the vehicle (such as a GPS display) or a screen that is deactivated when the car is in motion.
Abadie says her Glass was turned off, but it’s not hard to see why an officer might think it’s a bad idea for a driver to have a screen directly in front of their eye. Commenters argue that a hands-free navigation device that doesn’t require you to actually turn your head could be a safety boon. I think we’ll need some road tests to bear this arguments out. Abadie meanwhile sounds irate, saying on her Google + page that “the cop was being really nasty and asking me again and again why I was wearing Google Glass in the car.” Unfortunately, Abadie did not manage to use her Glass to snap a photo or take a video of the encounter. Ironically.
“Please please please, fight this in court,” writes one of the commenters on the ticket. “We need to get a ruling on this.”
A California traffic lawyer tells the WSJ Law Blog he thinks she can get off on the infraction due to the device not being on, or if she could prove she was using its mapping function. Google Glass FAQ warn users to know the law around mobile device use in their states when it comes to driving (and biking).
I’ve reached out to Abadie to see if she plans to fight it. Alternately, Google could just hurry up with those driverless cars, allowing us all to be as distracted while “driving” as we want to be.
from Forbes.com: Most popular stories http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2013/10/30/calif-woman-ticketed-for-wearing-google-glass-while-driving/
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