On Tuesday, Oct. 29, Celia Abadie became the first known person to be ticketed for driving while wearing Google’s latest innovative technology, Google Glass.
Abadie, a Google Explorer (the beta test group for Google Glass), was pulled over for speeding on Tuesday evening in San Diego, California. While speaking with her, the police officer saw she was wearing Google Glass and ticketed her for distracted driving.
The California law cited in Abadie’s case is meant to prevent people from driving distracted by prohibiting televisions and similar monitors in view of the driver. There are exceptions for GPS and other mapping tools along with navigation screens.
Distracted driving is a growing problem throughout the nation. Many states have implemented laws that limit the use of technology devices while driving to reduce the harmful effects of distracted driving. After Tuesday’s incident, Google Glass may soon be under scrutiny to determine if it encourages distracted driving habits.
Abadie’s ticket is the first known ticket associated with Google Glass. Google released a statement saying, “Explorers should always use Glass responsibly and put their safety and the safety of others first.”
The Google Explorer program was opened in February 2013 for people to test out the Glass and it’s marketability to the public. Those that now have the Glass, like Abadie, continue to post experiences with their Google Glass.
At the time she was pulled over, Abadie said the Glass was turned off while she was driving and posted about the ticket on her Google Plus account. The post has received a variety of comments, many calling for Abadie to fight the ticket in court.
Although Google Glass is still in beta testing, Abadie’s ticket on Tuesday may raise noise in legislative bodies in California as well as in states throughout the country. Google Glass comes with GPS capabilities, so people will be tempted to use it while driving for directions.