Yes, I read the story. I wondered if I would have issues as I have a hands free holder and I run Waze on my phone which keeps the screen on - if I was in Canada. Recently Waze (or iOS 12) updated so it interfaces with my car's touch screen and I can shut off the phone screen. I didn't really like the change but maybe if the laws change where I am, or I travel to Canada, at this could help me avoid a ticket? Or at least until they include car touch screens.
I have never had my phone wake up when I was driving once I shut the screen off - and the phone is on because I listen to audio books that are on it. I have to physically tap the screen and look at it to wake it up - which is good.
And ... I am off topic!
Lisa
In another thread where this story was discussed, there was a link to the law in one of the posts. I read it for myself. It says basically that the driver cannot interact with any electronic device with a screen capable of communicating an electronic message. Nothing about it being portable in the law. So technically, it's a violation to drive my car with an electronic display that communicates electronic messages to me about the engine state, travel, etc. I'm not going to be driving in Canada any time soon, but the law as written, if strictly enforced, would make a violator of pretty much anyone who drives a new car.
As for the law in UK requiring the engine to be off, what about my Prius? It shuts down the engine whenever I stop, so if I'm in a line at a drive-through and the engine is off, is that sufficient to allow me to use my telephone to pay? Or do I have to turn off the entire car? What about my watch? Can I use it to pay with the engine running? What about a tap and pay card? Is that legal with the engine running? I ask because the little device they use to process the card is an electronic device with a screen capable of transmitting an electronic message. Nothing in the law requires the device to be physically within the car. Which leads to an interesting dilemma if the police use one of those electronic message boards to warn drivers to move over. Technically, a policeman could just sit beside the board and wave over anyone who obeyed the instructions to get a ticket for "interacting" with an electronic device capable of communicating an electronic message.
My point is lawmakers don't know what they really want to do in all this, so they do whatever makes them feel good about it. What is the real hazard in using a phone? If it is that your hands need to be on the wheel, what about eating or drinking as you drive? Or tuning the radio, or setting the temperature, or adjusting the mirror, or the glare shields over the windshield? Is the intent that drivers must always have two hands on the wheel? What about adjusting the seat, or window? And in the case of the woman who was fined, what was the safety issue to the community that resulted from her not moving when the light turned green? Is it a law in Canada that one MUST move when the light is green? Is sitting stopped in a lane of stopped traffic a safety hazard, or just an inconvenience to the cop behind her?
If the intent is that the mental energy to talk on the phone is distracting, what about the radio, or streaming a talk show, or listening to the GPS directions? Or Waze traffic hazards? Or the kids in the back seat, or your mother-in-law in the passenger seat? What makes hands-free talking on the phone ok but holding it in one hand using the speaker function? Or up to the ear? Should the law require the driver to be silent, in a separate cabin with no controls except to drive and no access to any radio?
The bottom line is nobody really knows what is the right thing to do. And nobody I've heard of is doing any serious research about what the issue really is because we all "think" we know what the problem is. And yet we get on airplanes where the pilot is constantly talking to the ground controllers while flying, police cars have mounts for laptops right beside the driver seat, and radios in the console, and radios for communications are legal (CB, ham radio, etc).
Off the soapbox for now. Nice to be able to vent.
