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
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.