‘I Was Very Shocked,’ Says Driver Ticketed for Wearing Google Glass
Your first reaction to this might be to think of the police officer as a Luddite; but driving distracted is highly dangerous for yourself and others — you shouldn’t do it. Don’t text and drive, and if you get that call let it ring through to voice mail. Just yesterday I saw a lady blow through a school crossing and a stop sign at a high rate of speed, oblivious to the world around her while talking on the phone. Luckily the children had just finished crossing. Google glass is just another device, and even though I’m a technology fan, I have to side with the CHP on this one since you can get calls and IM’s on Google Glass to my understanding.
The Google Glass is a hands-free device, but that didn’t stop a California driver from getting a ticket for wearing the headset during a traffic stop this week. Cecilia Abadie, who’s in Google’s Explorer program of people testing Glass before its official launch, got a ticket for speeding — and for wearing a device that could block her view of the road.
“The device was on, but the screen was off and I wasn’t actually using it,” Abadie tells San Diego’s CBS News 8 TV Thursday. Abadie says she doesn’t want to be a firebrand; instead, she says, the device is in a legal gray area right now — one that needs to be resolved.
“It’s not like I am rebelling and saying I don’t deserve this ticket. It’s not about that. It’s about, the laws need to be clear. And I am very confused right now,” she tells CBS News 8.
Abadie says she had no idea the device might be illegal under California’s laws. And she says the officer “was very annoyed.” Abadie said. “And he kept asking me, ‘Why, why would you wear a device like that while you’re driving?’ “
“I said, ‘But it’s not illegal, right?’ ” she recalls. “And then he said, ‘It actually is illegal.’ I was very shocked. I didn’t expect that answer. I had never heard of that before.”
More: ‘I Was Very Shocked,’ Says Driver Ticketed for Wearing Google Glass : The Two-Way : NPR