The long list of activities banned from being done while driving a car was reduced by one when a California appeal court gave the OK for drivers to check GPS maps on their smartphone.
This ruling came despite other regulations that remain on the books that bar texting and talking while driving without a hands free device. In the end the California 5th District Court of Appeal ruled that drivers can use a device for map reading purposes. The case sprang from an incident when Steven Spriggs, of Fresno, was cited by a Caflifornia Highway Patrol (CHP) officer for looking at his smartphone while stopped in heavy traffic.
Spriggs fought the $165 ticket on the ground that he was not using the phone in a manner banned by the state, meaning he was not talking or texting while holding the device. He lost the initial case, but kept up the fight eventually getting the case bumped to the court of appeal which ruled in his favor.
"We agree with Spriggs and conclude, pursuant to the rules of statutory interpretation, including our review of the language and legislative history of section 23123(a), that the Legislature intended the statute to only prohibit the use of a wireless telephone to engage in a conversation while driving unless the telephone is used in a hands-free manner. Therefore, we hold that Spriggs did not violate section 23123(a) and reverse the judgment," the ruling stated.
This may not be the end of the case as the state attorney general's office is still reviewing its option on whether to challenge the court's decision.
There is also the aspect that police officers may still ticket drives who in their opinion are operating their vehicle while distracted in some manner.
A CHP spokesman said that as with all rulings the department will see if any changes need to be made in how their officers enforce the law. He added that drivers giving too much attention to their phone, or for that matter a magazine or anything that pulls their eyes off the road, could still be cited for distracted driving.
In 2012, CHP officers issued more than 168,000 citations for handheld cell phone or texting violations statewide. That is an average of 14,000 distracted driving citations a month, stated the California Highway Patrol.
