We previously brought you word of a Fresno man who was pulled over and ticketed because of his usage of the GPS function on his phone while driving. It would appear now that the matter will still be receiving some play in the media.
That’s because the California 5th District Court of Appeal has agreed to hear the case. Prior to this latest revelation, court decisions have not gone the driver’s way. He took his case to traffic court and lost, and then followed that up at the local appellate court. The judge in that instance also ruled that the ticket was permissible, in essence saying that the state’s laws against texting and all other handheld cellphone functions at the wheel could be applied to mapping functions as well.
This particular individual disagrees, which is why he’s been fighting the ticket since it was issued by a California Highway Patrol officer in January of last year. He agrees that someone truly distracted by their handheld phone should indeed be ticketed, but believes that his act did not constitute a violation.
In explaining their thinking behind taking on the case, the Court of Appeal said it would decide if simply holding a phone or using it to look at a map goes against the law passed years ago. Stay tuned to see how this all plays out.