OFF THE WIRE
By TERI FIGUEROA -
tfigueroa@nctimes.com
North County Times - The Californian
There is no law against punching in an address on the GPS unit on the dashboard of your vehicle ---- but if you get caught GPS-ing on your smartphone, you'll get a ticket.
Maybe.
Depends on the whim of the cop.
Welcome to the gray area of using wireless electronics in your car ---- phones, GPS units, MP3 players ... the works.
Last year, North County cops handed out nearly 8,000 tickets to drivers caught talking on a cell phone, and an additional 448 for drivers texting messages.
Most motorists have accepted that if they talk or text while driving and get caught, they'll probably get a ticket.
But what about using the phone as a music player or a GPS unit?
It's a question that seems to have everyone perplexed ---- even cops.
The law against using cell phones while driving was designed "specifically for cell phones, not electronic devices," said Oceanside-based Officer Chris Parent of the California Highway Patrol.
Parent said that, technically, motorists can scroll through their iPods for music while driving and not face a ticket. Doing the same thing with a smartphone could prove costly.
"If you are holding an iPod, the distraction danger isn't any different" than scrolling for music on a smartphone, Parent said. "But using the phone is illegal."
Same thing for a GPS unit on a dashboard versus a handheld phone. Entering an address into a GPS unit while driving "is just as bad as texting, if you ask me, but the law doesn't say that," Parent said.
Parent said that while the law targets phone use, it was designed to cut down on distracted drivers. The laws just haven't caught up with the intentions, he said.
The law making it illegal in California for drivers to hold a cellphone while talking has been around since July 2008. The law banning texting while driving went into effect in 2009. Tickets for texting or talking in your car vary depending on which county you're in. In North County, it's a minimum of $159 for a first offense and a minimum of $279 for subsequent offenses.
The law is confusing for lots of people.
It's legal to dial a phone number and talk in your car, as long as you've turned the speaker on so you're not holding the phone while you're talking.
Some drivers think it's legal to talk with the phone in their hand, as long as it's not to their ear.
It's not.
"What's the difference between holding it to your ear or having it six inches from your mouth?" Parent said.
Holding the phone while talking is illegal ---- period.
So what about passengers who hold the phone to the driver's ear? OK? Not OK?
Technically, it's legal, Parent said, describing the maneuver as a sort of "human bluetooth," referring to hands-free technology.
Even so, Parent said, some cops may disagree and hand out a ticket anyway.
North County motorists who fight their cell phone ticket might find themselves standing in the Vista courtroom of San Diego Superior Court Commissioner Larry Jones, who said last week that the decision to write a ticket is up to the officer.
"There are strict constructionists in law," Jones said in describing police officers who are prone to writing tickets in just about every circumstance. "Others have loose construction. The law lags behind technology."
Here's another gray spot: A driver texting or talking on his smartphone while moving in a public parking lot can get busted, but in a private parking lot, well, probably not, Parent and Jones said.
Jones said he's heard every excuse imaginable from drivers trying to beat their ticket.
"I had a lady say she was scratching her head with her phone," he said.
Jones said some motorists have brought phone records into his court showing they weren't using their phone just before they were pulled over and ticketed, although he said that doesn't necessarily mean they weren't using someone else's phone. A passenger's, perhaps.
And then there was the lady who argued that her ticket was written a minute after she was off the phone.
"I would say more people come in and say they were using the phone but they want to explain the circumstances of why they were using it," Jones said. "The majority of people ... typically convict themselves because people don't understand the difference between a defense and explaining why they are guilty."
Jones said he can't advise motorists fighting tickets on what's legal and what's not. He said all he can do is direct people to read the laws governing cell phone use in a vehicle.
"All of this is about watching your p's and q's while driving," the commissioner said. "I tell people all the time, 'You don't have to be here. You have the option of driving in a manner that you do not get the ticket.'"
There is some good news. Cell phone violations behind the wheel don't add points to a driver's record, according to the Californian Department of Motor Vehicles.
