A woman drives with both hands on the wheel. Her phone sits face-down on her lap. No officer pulls her over. No lights flash. Weeks later, a $1,251 ticket arrives in the mail. The evidence: a single frame from a Camera surveillance app. The charge: phone use while driving.
Automated camera companies market their devices as automated license plate readers — tools for catching stolen cars, flagging warrants, and aiding serious investigations.
Sold as a Crime Tool. Used as a Fine Machine.
Idiots downvoting you are the exact reason we end up with so many laws that seem ridiculous. You’re exactly right, why would it be in her lap if she hadn’t been using? Saying she’s innocent because it wasn’t actively in her hand, is like saying you’re just carrying a bloody knife, but they didn’t catch you stabbing the guy, so too bad.
In Australia, your phone must be stowed or in an approved cradle when driving, because, people would be using their phone and then drop it in their lap when caught and try to claim they were just carrying it there. Not that it got them out of the fine, it just saved time with idiots arguing.
My phone is in my lap while driving all the time because I take it out of my back pocket to not squish it when sitting down and I don’t have anywhere else to put it. Usually I remember to tuck it down beneath my legs, but sometimes I forget.
There’s a bunch of trays that can hold your phone all over, newer ones even make some dedicated ones that would wirelessly charge your phone. Put it there, your lap is not a stable surface, and sure will distract you when the sudden movement causes it to slide off.