Well it was only a matter of time before something like this happened, a woman in California has been given a ticket for driving while wearing Google Glass! Now that isn’t in its self an illegal thing to do, in fact it is somewhat of a grey area at best, but non the less Cecilia Abade was given a ticket for the “offence”.
Wearable tech is certainly gaining in popularity and while I agree that tinkering with your phone while driving is a big no-no, wearing Google Glass isn’t its self a direct distraction while you drive as it could be used for Sat Nav, not just for checking your emails.
Being wearable the intention is that you keep the device on throughout the day, not just pop it on to check your Facebook, so it would be sensible to assume that it would be in a partial sleep state between activities, but still fitted to your glasses. If the officer could tell she was really focusing on Tweeting and not driving, then she deserved the ticket, but that really doesn’t seem to be the case.
This one will no doubt be debated for some time and I expect some legislation will be drawn up in the next few months to cover such devices, but for now, maybe you shouldn’t wear the device while driving or you could face a fine, or worse.
Thank you Phandroid for providing us with this information.
Image courtesy of Cecilia Abade.
Until it is the Law, you CANNOT be charged… she will get away scott-free and so will others until they have it in writing.
It’s called distracted driving, so you CAN be charged. Not too bright are you
Just because she was wearing it DOESN’T mean she was using it… now does it? The officer would have to prove she was using it. You don’t think much outside of your little box do you? 😉
You don’t need to think outside the box, she was speeding (excessively) while wearing Google glasses. Pretty obvious she was using the glasses while driving. Next time read the whole thing, including the ticket.
Many people speed (to include excessively) without any distractions; it’s just how they prefer to drive. What’s happening here is that you’re being extremely narrow-minded and only thinking that the result of her speeding and subsequently this ticket MUST be from the glasses. You’re special aren’t you? oops, sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. I must have typed it while I was distracted from wearing my Google Glass.
It doesn’t matter if she was using them or not, she was pulled over for speeding, not wearing Google glasses. Let’s say she goes to court over the matter, what do you think the judge will ask? He’ll or she will ask “why were you speeding speeding?” no matter her answer she was still breaking the law and there are still laws in place that cover Google glasses which are very vague. I agree that you can’t be pulled over for just wearing them at the moment because there are no specific law pertaining to Google glasses, but wearing them them using them can lead to distracted driving which is the same as tweeting on your phone, drinking a coffee, putting on makeup, eating, day dreaming… Etc. Your knowledge of driving laws is purely what you’ve seen on YouTube. Maybe you should try reading the whole article instead of just the head line before you comment. Unlike you I actually have Google glasses and know how distracting they can be when doing simple things like driving with undo care and attention.
Well, if the glasses are not used for anything, they are simply.. Glasses.. and you can’t be charged for driving with Glasses now can you?
But still, I think people should stop using every thing they possibly can imagine in the car.. its bad enough with all those deaths because of cell phone usage.. now we don’t need google glass to add up on that, right?
This is why they have to make these laws, because of people like her. No respect for other people on the roads. It’s also not just Google glasses or smart phones, there are people that do makeup or eat a meal while driving, I saw one person eating a bowl of soup before. Like Wtf…
The law is Operating a Motor Vehicle while using a Video Monitor. It is listed as the second infraction at the top.
While I would agree that using video monitor while driving is a ticket-able infraction, who’s to say it was actually in use. They do run in standby mode where nothing is displayed. Also, you can have them fit with prescription lens… You CAN’T tell a person not to wear their glasses while driving. Obviously we know none of these extra facts needed to prove a case one way or the other, but I’m just mentioning them as I did below.
While I would agree that using a video monitor while driving is a ticket-able infraction, who’s to say it was actually in use? They do run in standby mode where nothing is displayed. Also, you can have them fit with prescription lens… You CAN’T tell a person not to wear their glasses while driving. Obviously we know none of these extra facts needed to prove a case one way or the other, but I’m just mentioning them as I did below.
She was also cited for going 80 in a 65 under CVC 22345 (a)
Good call on that one.. I can’t read that shit-for-handwriting they scribbled on the ticket…
They need printers in the car to just type it in and print the ticket. Then there would be an electronic copy already stored.
Well, if there is no evident she is using it while driving. Then the charge would not be success. Any grey area, benefit is go towards the person, unless US doesn’t have such law. Possible she can sue the officer and get compensation towards the mental damage and time she have to go though.