In October, Cecilia Abadie was one of the first people to ever get a ticket for driving while wearing her Google Glass device on her head. On Thursday, she went to court in San Diego and fought the citation by arguing that it was not a visual impairment to her driving since the device was not turned on at the time of the incident. She won her case and with it, one of the most talked about traffic court cases in recent memory.
According to CNN, Commissioner John Blair threw out both charges stating there wasn't enough evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the Google Glass was turned on at the time. It is only illegal to wear the device while driving if the device is turned on an operational.
The case began in Oct. when Abadie was pulled over in Oct. for speeding by the California Highway Patrol. The officer cited her for wearing the Google Glass wearable headset saying it violated California's vehicle code 27602, which prohibits operating a video-display in front of the driver's head rest where it can distract the person operating the vehicle.
Google has yet to comment on the matter but a post on the Google Glass FAQ warns users "Most states have passed laws limiting the use of mobile devices while driving any motor vehicle, and most states post those rules on their department of motor vehicles websites. Read up and follow the law!"
The law that Abadie was cited for violating was meant to prevent drivers from watching TV on any electronic device while driving. However, the law was not drafted with the Google Glass in mind. In fact, many supporters of the technology argue that the Glass is one of the safest driving electronics there is since its display rests above the natural field of vision and can be entirely controlled by voice commands.
While this case has been resolved, CNN points out that the question of whether or not the Google Glass is legal or illegal to wear while driving has not been answered. Currently, there is no law in California that states whether or not the technology is illegal to be wearing while behind the wheel. An officer could still pull you over and cite you for the Glass. As for whether or not you receive a warning or a ticket is up to that individual officer. What Abadie's case has done is given a plausible excuse in the event one is ticketed for use of the Glass. Officers will be forced to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the device was on at the time of the incident.
