National Post:
A driver looking at an Apple Watch while stopped at a traffic light is still guilty of breaking Ontario’s distracted driving law, despite the trendy device’s new technology and her claim she was only checking the time.
And:
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.
Interesting. I don’t buy the argument that she was only checking the time. That just takes a wrist raise and a glance, no more time than any other watch.
Surprised this doesn’t happen more often.
“That just takes a wrist raise and a glance, no more time than any other watch.”
This is false because a regular watch is always “on”. There’s also no chance of it not displaying the time if you don’t move your wrist correctly. That said, I think she is lying because cars have the time displayed in much more convenient locations than your wrist.
My state has the same law (even stopped at a light you can’t check a device) which I think is of questionable logic. Moving, of course you shouldn’t be playing with a device, phone, watch, CarPlay, whatever. But if I’m stopped at a light… is it really a hazard for me to glance at my watch or phone?
Drivers should definitely not let themselves be distracted while driving. But they should learn and consistently apply that discipline as part of a fundamental mindset of concern for the well being of others.
No amount of legislation is going to make people “good.” These “Big Brother”-type laws serve only to hasten a Police State for all of us.
Drivers should definitely not let themselves be distracted while driving. But they should learn and consistently apply that discipline as part of a fundamental mindset of concern for the well being of others.
No amount of legislation is going to make people “good.” These “Big Brother”-type laws serve only to hasten a Police State for all of us.
Amen.
Most modern cars have enough complexity in their “glass” displays to pull one’s eyes away from the road long enough to cause problems.
No doubt some folks are distracted enough having a conversation with another person in the car to cause problems in their driving.
The problem isn’t devices or displays, it’s cognitive load and that’s different for everyone.
One thing great about old analog radios with push buttons is that you could find a button by feel (if you programmed it, hopefully while not moving). Modern radios in glass displays take a bit better aim and if you’re switching between CarPlay and the car’s built in radio, you need knowledge of the car’s OS and reading the display.
Huh? What is false about it? He says nothing about the Apple Watch “always being on” and it is 100% true that you can check the time on an Apple Watch by raising your wrist and turning the watch toward your face. I just did it with mine and it works every time. Heck, even if you have this feature disabled, which is an option, it just takes a single tap to check the time.
There is nothing about checking the time on an Apple watch that would require multiple looks or, a fact that was more telling, a noticeable delay in reacting to the stop light change. I’ve lost track of how many quick beeps of my horn I’ve had to give at stoplights the last couple of years because people were checking their smart phones and/or watches while they waited.
Yes, in that you’re no longer paying attention to the road or traffic signal. As I mentioned in another post, I simply can’t recall how many times I’ve had to beep my horn because the person in front of me was on their smart phone when the light changed and didn’t notice.
In a perfect world, of course nothing is wrong with a brief check of your phone while stopped (change a song, read a notification, etc.), but people seem to get lost in them quickly and lose track of time.
I can literally look at a regular watch by glancing at it without moving my wrist appreciably. No lift of the wrist or waiting for it to wake.
People should do a lot of things. If people always did what they should do, we wouldn’t need police or most of the laws we have on the books. It would indeed be a wonderful world. But…
Many people don’t apply discipline or do the right thing. A 5 year old boy was killed in a crosswalk a couple of blocks from my house a year or so ago by a mother, with a damn baby in her own car, who was, of course, on her smartphone at the time. Do you say to the parents of the little boy “well, that sucks, but there is no point in making what she did illegal, we might as well have a police state then.”
I mean, really, why make anything illegal when people will still do bad things. Making murder illegal doesn’t make people good after all, plenty still commit murder, so why bother.
I’m 100% with the libertarian types when it comes to regulation and laws that prevent mentally fit and consenting adults from doing whatever they want to themselves in the privacy of their own homes. Kill yourself if you want, it’s your life, your body. But when you’re driving around a multi-ton weapon, the type of weapon that kills more innocent people in this country than guns (although that gap sure has closed), I’m fine with regulation that requires you to keep your damn attention on the road.
Assuming you’re sitting comfortably in your car, with a watch on your left wrist and face on the top, not worn underneath, with your left hand on the wheel, do you not need to rotate your wrist to see the watch face? Mine is almost always facing away from me when driving.
I’m not saying “no regulation”. I’m saying the emphasis should be far more on education than regulation. By “education”, I don’t mean indoctrination. I mean giving people practical knowledge and skills with which to lead more compassionate, responsible lives for themselves and for those they live with. With far better and more universal knowledge and awareness, regulations, as such would be far less necessary or numerous.
Sure, I get that it’s still taking attention but beeping at me to go through the light is a much different level of risk than me swerving into a car at 45mph. I mean, if that’s the level of risk we’re looking to prevent I want any inattentive driver who doesn’t move promptly ticketed.
You should be able to look at your watch while sitting at a red light.
No question it’s less dangerous, but it’s still a hazard and it’s really not asking much of people driving vehicles to keep their priorities and attention on the road rather than on interior vehicle distractions.
FWIW I was at a light about a year ago, and guilty of replying to a message my wife sent when it turned green. I didn’t notice, but the lady behind me sure did. Nope, she didn’t honk, she drove right into the back of my vehicle, having jumped on the gas right after the light changed. 🙂
IN my state she’d be the one at fault.
She was in mine as well, as you need to watch the vehicle in front of you not just the light, but I still felt a twinge of guilt.
BANISH THE GUILT.
I blame my Catholic mother.
No, you’re not.