Woman ticketed for driving with Google Glasses

A Californian woman is thought to be the first ever motorist to receive a ticket for driving while wearing ‘Google Glass’ computer spectacles.

Cecilia Abadie was written up under a state law banning drivers from watching TV behind the wheel, which the officer in question believed Ms Abadie’s transgression fell under. But there’s a twist…

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Ms Abadie claims the augmented reality device – which displays information on a tiny screen in a smartphone-like hands-free format in front of the wearer’s eye – was actually switched off at the time. As a result, she is now considering whether to appeal the fine.

However, the ticket also stated that Ms Abadie was driving at 80mph in a 65mph limit on Interstate 15 near San Diego.

According to the officer’s write-up, she was “driving with monitor visible to driver (Google Glass)” and therefore in direct contravention of California Highway Patrol state vehicle code 27602.

Ms Abadie also says the patrolman that stopped her stated that wearing the Google Glass could obscure her view of the road ahead and therefore was a danger to road safety.

However, after revealing on the Google+ social network she had been fined for the offence, fellow members commented that she could have an appeal case due to a potential loophole in the law.

Code 27602 also makes provision for a driver to legally view a display if it shows maps or GPS navigation data, helping “enhance or supplement the driver’s view”.

Together with the claim that the device was not running at the time – meaning she actually had an uninterrupted view of the highway as the lens is otherwise clear – the contentious ruling could be overturned.

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By motoringresearch.com