An appeals court in California ruled in February that, although it is illegal to talk or text on a cell phone while driving, it is legal to use a smartphone to access mobile maps. The ruling will allow traffic-jammed motorists to access and reference navigation apps while driving.
The trial was initially called two years ago when Peter Spriggs, of Fresno, California, was pulled over while referencing a navigation app on his smartphone to try and find a way around a traffic jam. Spriggs was ticketed when a police officer witnessed him on his phone while driving.
Spriggs fought the ticket and won, arguing against the wording of the current laws in place against using a phone while driving. The legislation in California limits only talking and texting on a phone, rather than all hands-on operations.
“Had the Legislature intended to prohibit drivers from holding the telephone and using it for all purposes,” The court ruled. “It would not have limited the telephone’s required design and configuration to ‘hands-free listening and talking,’ but would have used broader language, such as ‘hands-free operation’ or ‘hands-free use.’”
The current statute is limited because it was written in 2006, a full year before the first iPhone was released and well before the first mobile traffic apps had been designed, let alone used.
The ruling shows that that while the laws against mobile use are intended to protect drivers, they are not current with booming technologies. The advent of mobile maps has changed the way commuters navigate roads and highways, and the California ruling protects those who feel the need to roam.
[image: Woody Thrower ]
