EDMONTON — An Alberta driver is sharing his side of the story after police said they gave the man a distracted driving ticket for texting while in a Tim Horton’s drive-thru. Police also accused the man of being abusive towards the officer.
The man, named by local media as A.J. Daoust, was given a $287 ticket for using his cell phone while behind the wheel in the coffee shop drive-thru in Beaumont, Alta.
READ MORE: $287 ticket for texting in Tim Hortons drive-thru? Police say there’s more to the story
The Leduc Integrated Traffic Unit member who handed out the ticket saw the man driving and texting before he entered the drive-thru, said Cpl. Tim Dunlap, who is acting detachment commander for Beaumont RCMP. He spoke with the officer who gave out the ticket and read the report.
“He was going to pull him over, but the guy got into the drive-thru so he thought… I’ll leave him be,” said Dunlap.
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The unit member decided to also get a coffee and entered the drive-thru, which is when he saw the alleged bad behaviour continue.
Dunlap said while in the drive-thru the man was seen texting with two hands above the steering wheel, while moving forward. At that point, the officer felt “compelled” to do something, and planned to give him a verbal warning.
“The guy was very abusive verbally and gave [the officer] the finger,” Dunlap said.
“Because of the way the conversation went the officer decided, ‘you know what, I’m not going to give him a break after all, I’m going to give him a ticket.'”
According to officials, it didn’t end there.
“The gentleman was driving forward, looking behind him through the back window giving the finger to the officer, meanwhile not looking forward he drove right out into oncoming traffic blindly.”
The man’s exit manoeuvre could have snagged him another ticket, Dunlap said.
“So, there’s more to it, right?”
On Tuesday night Daoust responded on Reddit to the RCMP’s version of the story, admitting to losing his temper.
“I first asked him why this was happening, he simply stated the law at that point with no further explanation,” Daoust wrote.
“I called him a useless pig f**k, I’m pretty sure I asked if he seriously felt he was helping anything.”
Daoust also admitted to “flipping the officer off” as he was driving away after getting the ticket.
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While laws vary by province and territory, the Alberta Traffic Safety Act states:
“No individual shall drive or operate a vehicle on a highway while at the same time (a) holding, viewing or manipulating a cellular telephone, radio communication device or other communication device that is capable of receiving or transmitting telephone communication, electronic data, electronic mail or text messages, or (b) holding, viewing or manipulating a hand-held electronic device or a wireless electronic device.”
And don’t let the wording fool you.
“‘Highway’ does not necessarily mean an actual highway like you and I think about, it’s any kind of roadway,” said Ashley Stasiewich, an Edmonton paralegal who works as a traffic court agent with law firm Moreau & Company.
According to the traffic act, it can be on any public or private-owned roadway “that the public is ordinarily entitled or permitted to use for the passage or parking of vehicles.”
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