Driver was 'holding' cellphone even though hands were free, B.C.'s top court rules in distraction case
British Columbia's highest court has upheld the distracted driving conviction of a man who insisted his cellphone was merely wedged between his thigh and car seat when he was stopped by police.
Zahir Rajani argued that because he wasn't holding the device in his hands, he shouldn't have been dinged with a distraction ticket, and ultimately fought his conviction all the way to the B.C. Court of Appeal.
A three-judge panel dismissed the appeal on Tuesday, in a ruling that experts say strengthened the province's already tough distracted driving laws.
"Now we have real clarity about what it means to hold, or use, electronic devices while driving," lawyer Sarah Leahmon told CTV News.
"It extends it beyond simply holding it with your hands to perhaps propping it up with another body part."
The officer who pulled Rajani over said he had spotted the driver looking down behind the wheel. After approaching the vehicle, the officer said he saw a cellphone in Rajani's lap and issued him a distraction ticket.
The driver fought the fine in traffic court, where he admitted he had looked down but disputed the officer's description of how his phone was positioned.
The first judge to hear the case determined it didn't matter whether the cellphone was in Rajani's lap or wedged between his thigh and the seat because it was also plugged into a charger, and that was enough to constitute being in "use" under the Motor Vehicle Act.
The B.C. Supreme Court justice who heard Rajani's first appeal disagreed that simply having a phone plugged in – as opposed to actively plugging one into a charger – counts as use, but still upheld the conviction.
"She concluded that, even on Mr. Rajani's evidence, the phone was being supported in a way that permitted its use," Tuesday's appeals court ruling reads. "She found that Mr. Rajani's leg placement impacted the phone's position such that it was being 'held' within the meaning of the Act."
A narrow interpretation of what it means to hold a cellphone would let drivers "operate their vehicles with electronic devices in their laps, between their thighs, tucked under their arms or chins, or supported by other parts of their bodies," the justice said.
The appeals court panel agreed, quoting the definitions of "hold" from the Oxford English Dictionary, Merriam-Webster Dictionary, and Cambridge Dictionary in its decision to support a broader interpretation.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
Boeing is on the verge of launching astronauts aboard new capsule, the newest entry to space travel
It’s the first flight of Boeing’s Starliner capsule with a crew on board, a pair of NASA pilots who will check out the spacecraft during the test drive and a weeklong stay at the space station.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.