First ticket issued for driver using Google Glass
SAN DIEGO (CNS) – In a possible high-tech first, a woman helping Google
test its prototype eyeglass-style wearable computer system got a traffic ticket
this week for sporting the equipment while driving on Interstate 15 in
Tierrasanta, the California Highway Patrol reported Wednesday.
An officer with the state agency issued the citation early Tuesday
evening to a woman wearing the “Google Glass” device in violation of state
Vehicle Code 2760, CHP spokesman Jake Sanchez said. The motorist initially was
pulled over for allegedly speeding near Aero Drive.
The law makes it illegal to “drive a motor vehicle if a television
receiver, a video monitor, or a television or video screen, or any other
similar means of visually displaying a television broadcast or video signal
that produces entertainment or business applications, is operating and is
located in the motor vehicle at a point forward of the back of the driver's
seat, or is operating and the monitor, screen, or display is visible to the
driver,” according to Sanchez.
The spokesman said he knew of no other case in which anyone in the state
was cited for using the equipment, which is not yet available to the public
at large, while behind the wheel.
On a social-networking page, Temecula resident Cecelia Abadie — a
tester, or “Google Explorer,” of the technology — identified herself as the
recipient of the ticket and posted a photo of it.
Abadie wrote, “Is #GoogleGlass illegal while driving or is this cop
wrong??? Any legal advice is appreciated!! … Do you know any other
#GlassExplorers that got a similar ticket anywhere in the U.S.?”
Abadie was cited for allegedly driving too fast as well as for wearing
her Google Glass headset, Sanchez said.
In a question-and-answer section on its website for the technology,
Google notes that “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 statement continues. “Above all,
even when you're following the law, don't hurt yourself or others by failing to
pay attention to the road.”
