Jeffrey Macesin from Quebec, Canada, found out the hard way that using a smart watch while driving is illegal, costing him a $120 fine and four points on his driving license, The Verge reported.
Macesin was surprised to find out that the casual use of a smart watch had such hefty consequences. He was under the impression that using an Apple Watch while driving was permitted, in spite of the risk of distraction when turning attention away from the road, according to Trinity News Daily.
Macesin admitted to using his Apple Watch while driving, particularly to change the music.
Looking back at the incident, Macesin said, "I have it [smartphone] in the bag charging while the auxiliary cable is plugged in to the radio and this [Apple Watch] controls my phone to play the music. So I was changing songs with my hand on the steering wheel. Going towards Vaudreuil, there was a cop car behind me and he didn't have his lights on yet, but then he turned them on and I thought maybe he just wanted me to get out of the way. I was just confused," Digital Trends reported.
He received a ticket, under Section 439.1 of the Quebec Highway Safety Code, which says, "No person may, while driving a road vehicle, use a handheld device that includes a telephone function." The question here is that even though a smart watch has an LCD screen and smartphone-like features, can it be considered as a handheld device?
Macesin argued that he wasn't technical using a handheld device.
"It's not so much handheld. It's a watch. You know, it's on my wrist. That's where it gets controversial. It's like, 'Is it? Is it not?' but I think this needs to be talked about," he said.
According to Avi Levy, a lawyer who specializes in traffic violations, a smart watch is not a handheld device but a Bluetooth device, and as per the law, the use of Bluetooth devices is prohibited, CTV News reports.
