A Canadian student has been fined Canadian $400 (£230, $310) for looking at her Apple smartwatch while waiting at traffic lights.
Victoria Ambrose was found guilty of breaking Ontario’s distracted driving law.
In court, Ms Ambrose said she looked at the watch to find out the time.
This claim was rejected by the judge who said smartwatches were a distraction as much as a “cellphone taped to someone’s wrist”.Ms Ambrose got a traffic ticket in April after being seen by a police officer from the University of Guelph lingering at a red light at a junction on the campus.
In court, the police officer said Ms Ambrose did not move off when the light turned green because her attention was fixed on the watch. She only started moving when the officer shone a side light from the police cruiser at her car.
I don’t get this. The person was at a red light, and was not driving dangerously; the fact that she didn’t start driving when the light turned green shouldn’t merit a fine. How much more distracting is it that, say, using the in-car GPS when at a light, or even lighting a cigarette when driving? There’s a weird double-standard here about such things. Yes, using a cellphone is dangerous, and wrong, but if you’re at a light and need to check the time, this sounds excessive.
Source: Apple Watch use at lights leads to fine for student – BBC News