We reported last week how a woman, Cecilia Abadie, was cited for driving with Google Glass. She was actually pulled over for speeding, but was given a citation for driving with Google Glass when the California Highway Patrol officer saw that she was wearing Google’s much sought after wearable device. This particular citation is usually given to drivers who’re distracted by a TV screen or a video while driving, Abadie tells the Associated Press that she plans to fight the citation. Whatever the outcome is, it will definitely set a precedent that will be quite important in the future, as authorities re-examine laws to regulate the use of such technology, which will one day become mainstream.
Abadie says that “the laws are very outdated,” and that they’re not clear enough. She believes that she shouldn’t have been cited as she wasn’t using her Glass unit when allegedly going 80 mph in a 65 mph zone, “The Glass was on, but I wasn’t actively using it,” Abadie claims. She also terms it as more of a solution to the cellphone problem, saying that Glass makes navigation easier than GPS devices or smartphones. While Abadie says she’s “pretty sure” that she’ll fight, it can be argued that even using Glass for navigation while driving constitutes as a distraction. Concrete legislation will definitely be required to end the uncertainty as Google Glass and other wearable devices gradually enter the mainstream. New Jersey, West Virginia and Delaware are already ahead of the pack, with legislators having introduced bills to specifically ban the use of Google Glass while driving.
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