Good news, Glass wearers: It may be okay to wear Glass while behind the wheel, so long as it isn’t in use.
A California judge has dismissed the ticket that Google Glass Explorer Cecilia Abadie got for wearing the head-mounted smartphone accessory while driving.
Abadie was pulled over last year by the California Highway Patrol for going 75 MPH in a 65 zone and received two tickets: One citing her for speeding, and another for watching a video screen while driving. The traffic court judge dismissed both the speeding citation as well as the charge for using Glass.
But before everyone goes running out to start driving with Glass, one thing is worth remembering. The judge said that he was dismissing the ticket because there was no evidence that Abadie was using Glass at the time she was pulled over. That would seem to imply that if it was possible to prove that she had been using Glass at the time, the ticket could have stuck.
Given that Washington’s laws are very similar to California’s in that regard, I’d say that it would be worth it for Glass users to keep their displays off their heads, if only to avoid all the hassle.
