REGINA – Apple unveiled its much anticipated smartwatch Monday, raising the conversation around the importance for both police and the public to keep up with the constantly changing technology.
The new device joins others on the market that allows users to access apps, receive notifications, and make phone calls.
Elizabeth Popowich with the Regina Police Service said the Apple watch might keep you fascinated, but preferably not behind the wheel.
“The toys differ as the technology improves, but really the principles and the intents behind the laws are the same,” she said.
Distracted driving is responsible for 18 per cent of collision on Saskatchewan roads and an average of 52 deaths a year.
Handheld communication devices are prohibited while driving, and playing with your smartwatch is no exception.
“Even if it’s not a communications device, police still have the ability to lay a charge of driving without due care and attention,” explained Popowich.
Associate professor of computer science at the University of Regina, David Gerhard said there’s a potential for the watch to be less distracting than a smartphone while driving.
“Whether people will try and tap into their phones while they are driving, or whether they’ll just have a glance and see what’s going on, it might be better or it might be worse we don’t know yet,” said Gerhard.
Some other devices, like the Samsung Galaxy, have the ability to take pictures, but in the wrong hands it raises concerns over privacy and surveillance.
Gary Streisel is the owner of Electric Eyes Network in Regina and said when it comes to secretly being recorded a number of products on the market already discreetly capture both picture and sound.
“People are worried about being recorded but people are recorded now more than ever,” he said.
So as technology continues to evolve, Gerhard said the public will evolve with and pay more attention to their surroundings.
“In my office or in my house I know what cameras are there, but if I’m in public maybe I have to accept there might be a photograph taken of me,” he explained. “Then it will become about the space you’re in and how you can control the activities in that space.”
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