My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: California
A month ago, I was stopped while holding a cell phone, running the maps app, into my hand, and issued a VC 23123(a) citation.
I know this may be difficult for anyone to believe, but I was not paying any attention to my phone while driving - I had forgotten it was even in my hand. I had been looking at maps before leaving, waiting for the traffic to subdue, and had forgotten about putting the phone down before starting.
During the stop, I showed the call log to the officer which showed I had not had any calls on that phone for the last 4 days (yes, I basically hate cell phones. it's not common for me to even carry one, usualy it stays at the office. which is why I don't have the reflex of putting it in my pocket like most people would normally do).
I am considering to contest the ticket. VC 23123(a) violation, which I was cited for, only covers phone calls, and as I showed the officer I was not on a call at any time during driving.
Maybe the officer may try to reclassify the ticket as VC 23123.5(a) instead, but I am unsure if I broke that law either. VC 23123.5(a) states: "A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while holding AND OPERATING a handheld wireless telephone or an electronic wireless communications device unless [...]". What does it mean to operate a device, can you be operating it if you are not doing anything with it ? Later in VC 23123.5(c) (speaking about mounted rather than hand-held devices), "operating" seems to mean pushing buttons or tapping or flicking the screen, which I did not do at any point while driving.
I understand it may be difficult to prove that I didn't fiddle with the phone, but my question here is about the law: if I actually didn't do anything with the device other than holding it, was I actually violating VC 23123.5(a) ?
Also, is there any way I can oppose reclassifying the ticket as VC 23123.5(a), or, maybe make the point that the officer didn't charge me under it precisely because he didn't see me fiddle with my phone ?
A month ago, I was stopped while holding a cell phone, running the maps app, into my hand, and issued a VC 23123(a) citation.
I know this may be difficult for anyone to believe, but I was not paying any attention to my phone while driving - I had forgotten it was even in my hand. I had been looking at maps before leaving, waiting for the traffic to subdue, and had forgotten about putting the phone down before starting.
During the stop, I showed the call log to the officer which showed I had not had any calls on that phone for the last 4 days (yes, I basically hate cell phones. it's not common for me to even carry one, usualy it stays at the office. which is why I don't have the reflex of putting it in my pocket like most people would normally do).
I am considering to contest the ticket. VC 23123(a) violation, which I was cited for, only covers phone calls, and as I showed the officer I was not on a call at any time during driving.
Maybe the officer may try to reclassify the ticket as VC 23123.5(a) instead, but I am unsure if I broke that law either. VC 23123.5(a) states: "A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while holding AND OPERATING a handheld wireless telephone or an electronic wireless communications device unless [...]". What does it mean to operate a device, can you be operating it if you are not doing anything with it ? Later in VC 23123.5(c) (speaking about mounted rather than hand-held devices), "operating" seems to mean pushing buttons or tapping or flicking the screen, which I did not do at any point while driving.
I understand it may be difficult to prove that I didn't fiddle with the phone, but my question here is about the law: if I actually didn't do anything with the device other than holding it, was I actually violating VC 23123.5(a) ?
Also, is there any way I can oppose reclassifying the ticket as VC 23123.5(a), or, maybe make the point that the officer didn't charge me under it precisely because he didn't see me fiddle with my phone ?
Other Violations: VC 23123(A) - Holding a Cell Phone
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