Getting lost will no longer excuse using a cell phone behind the wheel.
A ruling in the case of People v. Spriggs in the Appellate Division of Fresno Superior Court was made public in April, clearing away the gray area surrounding cell phone use while driving.
Steven Spriggs fought a ticket he received for driving while using a wireless phone because he said he was using the maps application on his phone. The court ruled that California law, which bans texting while driving, concludes that the major issue was avoiding “the distraction the driver faces when using his or her hands to operate the phone.”
“Distraction would be present whether the wireless telephone was being used as a telephone, a GPS navigator, a clock or a device for sending and receiving text messages and emails,” the ruling says.
The ruling was filed March 21 but was made public in April, and the release coincides with Distracted Driving Awareness Month. In a statement released by the California Department of Motor Vehicles, agencies such as the California Highway Patrol and the California Office of Traffic Safety have promised high visibility enforcement against distracted driving in the month of April, according to a press release.
Last year, 57,000 handheld cell phone and texting tickets were issued in the month of April alone, according to the DMV. Throughout the whole year, about 450,000 tickets were issued for using a cell phone or texting while driving.
In a statement released by the DMV, the fine for a first-time cell phone or texting violation is $159 while subsequent tickets can be up to $279.
Junior liberal studies major Natalie Duarte said she believes the court’s ruling will produce a change.
“I am an avid GPS user, so it will have an impact on me,” Duarte said. “But overall, I think drivers will now be paying more attention to the road rather than their phones.”
Some students, however, do not think the law should extend to using GPS or map applications.
Without being able to use her GPS on her phone while driving, senior photography and public relations major Belinda Guizar said she is afraid she will encounter a couple of problems.
“Without my GPS, I am going to go broke wasting gas because I will be getting lost everywhere,” Guizar said. “In general, I will be late everywhere.”
Senior kinesiology major Joseph Deguchi said he is not a fan of the decision.
“Obviously it will make the roads much safer, but in reality it sucks for most younger people because we rely on map applications to get anywhere,” Deguchi said.