As the movement over texting while driving pushes forward in the U.S., with more and more states adding laws to their books to try to deter this dangerous habit, Canadian police are being hyper vigilant and recently ticketed a man for using his Apple Watch while driving.
Jeffrey Macesin wasn't exactly driving at the time. He was sitting at a traffic light in Quebec, switching songs on his stereo via his Apple Watch, when the officer behind him hit the blue lights and directed him aside. Macesin was given a traffic citation, which included a $120 fine and four points on his license.
"Driving is a complex task that requires full concentration and it's essential that drivers minimize the risk of distraction in their vehicle," Victoria Police said in a statement to Fairfax Media.
"Anyone caught using mobile phones, GPS or other electronic devices while driving could face penalties. [Drivers] don't have to take the watch off as long as the driver has full concentration on the road."
Police in Australia got a jump on the issue, releasing public statements regarding the use of technology while driving as the watch hit the markets earlier this spring.
"Police remind motorists that driving is a complex task requiring drivers to use and coordinate a number of skills," said Inspector Steve Kameniar, an officer with the Traffic Support Branch.
"Any lapse in concentration increases the risk of the vehicle being involved in a crash."
Kameniar stressed the dangers posed by any type of distraction regarding a driver's reaction time, their ability to maintain a safe speed, and their overall awareness of the road.
"What a lot of people seem to forget is that a car travelling at 60km/h (about 35 mph) is travelling at more than 16 meters (about 50 ft) in one second. Taking your eyes off the road for just one second means you have driven 16 meters blind. A lot can happen in one second and 16 meters."
Unfortunately in the U.S., lawmakers continue to drag their feet concerning stricter laws on the use of technology while driving, despite the dangerous statistics associated with distracted driving.
According to the CDC, over 3,000 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2012. Sixty-nine percent of drivers in the U.S. between the ages of 18-64 reported to have talked on their cell phone while driving within the 30 days before they were surveyed and 31% reported to have read or sent a text message/email while driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that while any form of distraction increases the chance of a vehicle crash, texting is especially dangerous because it requires visual, manual, and cognitive attention to be diverted from the task of driving, making it by far the most alarming distraction.
The same could be said of using the Apple Watch, since it too requires a driver's attention to be diverted from the road. As states slowly ratchet their laws to address issues of distracted driving, the new watch is bound to be thrown into the mix.
