A new law went into effect on October 1st, 2017. It makes holding a cellular or electronic device while driving subject to substantial fines. The new law also brings confusion as it states one may interact with a mounted device if it requires a single touch or swipe to activate or deactivate the device. Some people have interpreted that narrowly, thus allowing multiple touches if one is not turning the device on or off, but is instead entering information such as a crash report in WAZE.
I’m assuming this can’t be a “primary offense” meaning they can’t stop you solely based on this but ticket you if another offense is observed in addition to this.
Unless it’s like the military where they can stop you if they see you on your phone (I’ve done it before).
The law that was changed with this bill has been a primary offense for several years. The interesting part of the law is that it says it’s legal to “activate or deactivate a mobile electronic device or a function of the device”. There’s nothing explicitly stating that only a single swipe or touch is allowed so it’ll be interesting to see how this is interpreted by the courts.
The folks making a living by driving and using navigation systems and cell phones - LYFT, UBER, TaxiCabs, etc… - will probably push the issue through the courts as they can’t be expected to pull to the curb and turn off their vehicle each time they have a message or route change!