So it's probably good to at least know what the rule is.
Section 23123.5(a) of the Vehicle Code prohibits drivers from “holding and operating” a handheld wireless
telephone unless you're do so in a voice-operated and handsfree manner.
So here's the question on which courts have stridently disagreed:
Is it illegal to hold a cell phone in your left (or right) hand and look at it while driving in order to follow directions?
Nathaniel Porter was doing just -- looking at the map on the cell phone -- and got a ticket for $158. He filed an appeal with the Appellate Division, which reversed, holding that it doesn't count as "operating" the cell phone if you're just looking at it. The Court of Appeal then took up the case.
The Court of Appeal holds that under the plain meaning of the term, you're "operating" a cell phone when it's powered on and you're looking at it. The statute isn't just limited to typing or clicking on the thing. The Court of Appeal backs up that holding with policy concerns, arguing -- factually correctly, I believe -- that if you're looking down at your cell phone while driving, that's distracted driving, and it's dangerous, even if you're not constantly swiping or texting on the thing.
That's the argument for the Court of Appeal's holding. Which is eminently understandable.
The best argument to the contrary, I think, comes from subsection (c) of the same statute. Which expressly allows you to use a cell phone while driving if it's mounted to the dashboard and only requires a single swipe or tap to operate.
So if you can swipe or tap while looking at a cell phone on your dashboard, why can't you do less than that -- merely look -- while the cell phone's in your hand?
I can see an argument in response. Albeit one that's not in the opinion. Maybe it's more dangerous to look down at your cell phone than it is to look at a cell phone on your dashboard. (I suspect that's true.) So maybe the Legislature drew that distinction.
Though if you're holding your cell phone up on the dashboard while you're looking at it, maybe the two are equivalent. (Though you still lack the maximal use of your second hand on the steering wheel if you're holding the cell phone in your hand while you look at it.)
Anyway, here's the rule:
No looking at a map on your cell phone while you're holding it in your hand.
(Though it seems fine to look at that same map on your cell phone while the phone rests on the console or in the passenger seat. Go figure.)
Add this holding to your prior knowledge of California Ticket Law.
