Woman Looking at Apple Watch Found Guilty of Distracted Driving

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
13,000
A woman in Canada is being fined for breaking Ontario’s distracted driving law by looking at her Apple Watch while stopped at a traffic light. Her defense was that she was merely checking the time, but the court believed that it was no different than using a cell phone.

“Despite the Apple Watch being smaller than a cellular phone, on the evidence, it is a communication device capable of receiving and transmitting electronic data. While attached to the defendant’s wrist, it is no less a source of distraction than a cellphone taped to someone’s wrist,” Phillipps said.
 
Last edited:
Isn't there a clock in the dash of the car why do you need to look at it on your wrist. I do think her getting a ticket is abit much as she was at a red light and didn't cause an accident but I guess its still considered distracted driving.
 
Last edited:
Story details:

Victoria Ambrose was stopped at a red light on South Ring Road in Guelph in April when a University of Guelph police officer, beside her in his cruiser, noticed the glow of an electronic device. The officer testified he saw her looking up and down about four times, court heard.

When the light turned green, two cars in front of Ambrose promptly moved forward but she remained stationary until the cop shone a light into her car and she began to drive, court heard.


So she wasn't checking the time, she was texting or something similar. Good ticket.
 
Nothing better than being at a light that changes green, the guy in front doesn't go, so the light soon changes to orange (since it didn't detect a new vehicle on the sensor below the street), but then the guy in the first car realizes he was late and goes... and the rest of us sit there waiting for the light to cycle round again.

Yeah, nothing better than that. Good ticket.
 
I've got no idea what you're trying to say here. Was I supposed to somehow avoid getting bumped into while stuck in a line of cars?
Oh I don’t know, maybe leave extra room between you and the car ahead of you, so if you need to move forward, there’s some space to do so? There’s no reason to stop 3 inches from the car ahead of you.
 
I've got no idea what you're trying to say here. Was I supposed to somehow avoid getting bumped into while stuck in a line of cars?

Be more aware of your surroundings. I'm offensive and defensive all the time. #GITGUD

As for the article I don't agree with it. What makes looking at your watch any different than looking at your car stereo? Talking to your passenger? Kids in the rear of the vehicle BEING DISTRACTING. I don't really agree with stuff like this. Texting while driving? Nose deep in your phone? Ticket, hardcore. Every accident I've almost been in the other person is on their phone and completely oblivious to what almost happened.

Outside that though how is other stuff just not typical distractions?
 
Be more aware of your surroundings. I'm offensive and defensive all the time. #GITGUD



Oh I don’t know, maybe leave extra room between you and the car ahead of you, so if you need to move forward, there’s some space to do so? There’s no reason to stop 3 inches from the car ahead of you.

Wow, so glad you two geniuses know exactly what the situation was. Not sure what we would do without asshole armchair generals to save the day.
 
She can beat it. She's a woman driver. Women are always checking their appearance,etc. Multitasking. People check their watches. Bring up the device's connection records That can prove whether it made a text call or data connection. One could argue that the law is obsolete as it does not address new technology like Google glass.
 
Last edited:
Nothing better than being at a light that changes green, the guy in front doesn't go, so the light soon changes to orange (since it didn't detect a new vehicle on the sensor below the street), but then the guy in the first car realizes he was late and goes... and the rest of us sit there waiting for the light to cycle round again.

Yeah, nothing better than that. Good ticket.


I use the honker if they're 2 seconds late. Usually these people are harmless fucks, so I'm not afraid of getting shot.

What's more annoying is the lag with which people let off the brakes. If everyone let off the brake simultaneously and rolled forward, we could get more cars through at a light.
 
Story details:

Victoria Ambrose was stopped at a red light on South Ring Road in Guelph in April when a University of Guelph police officer, beside her in his cruiser, noticed the glow of an electronic device. The officer testified he saw her looking up and down about four times, court heard.

When the light turned green, two cars in front of Ambrose promptly moved forward but she remained stationary until the cop shone a light into her car and she began to drive, court heard.


So she wasn't checking the time, she was texting or something similar. Good ticket.

Pretty sure every reply since you needs to learn to read. No one checks the time 4 or 5 times and then stares at it long enough to miss the green light. Ticket was well deserved. I have a smart watch that gets texts to it all the time. I used to check it, as its just a harmless watch, right? Nope! Almost caused two separate accidents. Kinda puts the fear into you at that point. Everyone is trying to find a way to circumvent the law, or have some asinine excuse. Just don't do it.
 
It's ok as long as Teslas touchdisplay is banned, Car Radios and Nav-units is banned from use and those distracting things that controls the AC has to be banned from use also. There has to be a limit. In Sweden we have settled for that we cannot hold any device in our hand while driving.As in moving in traffic.
 
It's ok as long as Teslas touchdisplay is banned, Car Radios and Nav-units is banned from use and those distracting things that controls the AC has to be banned from use also. There has to be a limit. In Sweden we have settled for that we cannot hold any device in our hand while driving.As in moving in traffic.

Those other items are handsfree. You are expected to set the radio and navigation BEFORE leaving. The radio, AC, NAV have always been this way.
 
Exactly. Also OEM nav / radio have a LOT of features disabled while the vehicle is moving and operating them while at a red light may still give you a ticket IF like in this case you slow everyone else down. That's because you're NOT paying attention which is kind of a requirement to drive.
Side note: it's illegal to touch a GPS while driving, that's the main reason why built-in GPS are disabled while moving.

Hell, I can't even recall memory seat position while in Driving gear... it has to be Park and I understand why.
I'm 100% OK with this ticket, you want to play with gadgets, park your car.
 
Wow, so glad you two geniuses know exactly what the situation was. Not sure what we would do without asshole armchair generals to save the day.
I hate how people think they are always perfect and 100% prepared for anything. These people are full of shit most the time and make the same common mistake everyone else does.
 
Guess they don't have "Innocent until proven guilty" in Canada? I was checking the time, its a watch ... prove otherwise or I am innocent. There are billboards and signs more distracting than a effing apple watch, ffs.
 
Guess they don't have "Innocent until proven guilty" in Canada? I was checking the time, its a watch ... prove otherwise or I am innocent. There are billboards and signs more distracting than a effing apple watch, ffs.

Nah, we're just like the U.S. in that regard. Guilty until proven innocent. Big difference is we don't shoot people when they "resist" arrest like they do in the U.S. :)

Stop resisting...stop resisting, while the person is rolling around on the ground from a taser shot. LOL...
 
Bullshit fine, plain and simple. If you are stopped at a traffic light it isn't distracted anything. This is a gross misuse of the law.
 
Bullshit fine, plain and simple. If you are stopped at a traffic light it isn't distracted anything. This is a gross misuse of the law.

So, I am ok with being loaded in my car while sitting at a light because I am stopped? See? I can make stupid comments too.

You can be arrested for DUI just for being in your car with the keys in your pocket. Even if you have no intention of driving.

Both of these are extremely serious offences, whether you love your phone or not. When operating a motorvehicle, which she was, you cannot do certain things. This is one of them. It is a law. It doesn't matter what your feelings say.
 
So, I am ok with being loaded in my car while sitting at a light because I am stopped? See? I can make stupid comments too.

You can be arrested for DUI just for being in your car with the keys in your pocket. Even if you have no intention of driving.

Both of these are extremely serious offences, whether you love your phone or not. When operating a motorvehicle, which she was, you cannot do certain things. This is one of them. It is a law. It doesn't matter what your feelings say.
The difference is my comment is based on logic and common sense. Your comment is a logical fallacy and as you first stated, stupid.
 
The difference is my comment is based on logic and common sense. Your comment is a logical fallacy and as you first stated, stupid.

You think yours is better than mine because you're blinded by the fact that it's an OPINION. And a crybaby one at that.

Wah I don't like the law way it's bullshit wah I don't agree.

That's how your post came off. The law states you cannot use an electronic device while operating a motor vehicle. That doesn't change just because her foot is off the gas and on the brakes.
 
Meanwhile Canada blindly marches lockstep with the rest of Europe into totalitarianism at the behest of social justice... Im only half joking

Given that distracted driving is the leading cause of traffic fatalities in Ontario, this law is how the deaths are fought. I'll take social justice driven laws any day over stupid people trying to use their watch or phone while driving.
 
Bullshit fine, plain and simple. If you are stopped at a traffic light it isn't distracted anything. This is a gross misuse of the law.

The law in Ontario is crystal clear. Using an electronic device while seated in the car while driving, moving or not, is distracted driving. The penalties are severe. If you don't like it, tough. Don't drive here and use your electronic device. In Ontario it's the law.
 
So because a law is law it can't be pointed out where it overreaches or is stupid? Great logic there boys. Because laws have never been repealed or modified right? Law is stupid, defending it is stupid.
 
Umm, how may of you actually read the article? The end of it summarizes it plain and simple.

"In the end, it was not the technology of the watch that doomed Ambrose, but human failing.
“The key to determining this matter is distraction. It is abundantly clear from the evidence that Ms. Ambrose was distracted when the officer made his observations"

It wasn't necessarily the watch or the checking time excuse. It was that she was distracted and wasn't paying attention to the light signal / road that got her the ticket.
 
Isn't there a clock in the dash of the car why do you need to look at it on your wrist. I do think her getting a ticket is abit much as she was at a red light and didn't cause an accident but I guess its still considered distracted driving.

This assumes you believe her story, that all she was doing was checking the time. Seems like a convenient excuse to me.

That being said, I don't have a problem with people checking their stuff at a red light. To me there should be exceptions to all these distraction laws if a vehicle isn't moving. If you are distracted in a moving vehicle you can kill people. If you are distracted in an idling vehicle, the worst you are going to do is inconvenience some ass who wants you to gun it as soon as the light turns green. I can live with the latter.
 
Wouldn't it be easier to just look at the big digital readout on your dash than fiddling with a watch?

that is not the point. i didn't read the entire article because i'm not disabling my adblocker on that site, but i got enough of it to know that they were checking it while stopped at a light.

if they start giving out tickets for shit like this, they may as well completely remove car radios, GPS units, even air conditioning controls, hell, even looking over at your passenger while you're talking....because at that point, all of those could be used to create an instance of "distracted driving".

i hate the fucking nanny state that this world is quickly becoming.
 
Back
Top