MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Just looking at your cell phone while behind the wheel of your car is not breaking the law. That was a decision a judge in Moose Jaw, Sask. made in a decision recently published online.
Cory Haliwyz was spotted by a police officer looking at his iPhone on May 12, 2014 while driving on Main Street. The officer said Haliwyz held the phone in his right hand for 30 to 45 seconds.
When he was pulled over, Haliwyz said he had just received a text message from his daughter and picked the phone up for a brief moment to see who it was from and then put it back down. He showed the message to the constable who did not see an outgoing message.
He denied having the phone in his hand for the time stated by the constable and told the court that he was adjusting the temperature controls in the van.
During the trial, the Crown argued the intent of the legislation is to deal with distracted driving, which includes taking your eyes off the road to look at or answer a cell phone.
Haliwyz told the judge just picking up and looking at the phone is not what is meant by the legislation.
READ MORE: SGI hands out over 200 tickets for distracted driving in February
Judge Margaret Gordon agreed with Haliwyz.
“In my view the definition of use in the legislation is not so encompassing so as to prohibit looking at your electronic communication device,” ruled Gordon.
In making her finding, Gordon found that as the legislation currently applies, it “requires that a person must be using the electronic communication device to text.
“To me that connotes doing some action in relation to the phone.”
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