The apparent first person in the country ticketed for driving while wearing Google Glass is now officially the first person fighting a citation for it.
Cecilia Abadie pleaded not guilty Tuesday for an October traffic stop. Now, the California woman admits to the primary offense of driving 80 in a 65 mile-per-hour zone. (Via Newser)
"She was already getting a speeding ticket in San Diego when the CHP officer added a second infraction, having a monitor visible to the driver. 'He started to ask question about why are you wearing Google Glass?'" (Via KABC)
There's no shortage of online videos of people driving while wearing Google Glass, even using the navigation to apparently help them reach destinations. (Via YouTube / Phandroid)
California law enforcement officers say with distracted driving crash rates rising, using Google Glass behind the wheel amounts to texting while driving.
"Emerging technologies make it onto the market, consumers use them in a car, and the officers can show based on our training and experience this is not a safe driving practice." (Via KPIX)
KNBC rigged up a GoPro camera to give a perspective of what you see looking through the glasses behind the wheel, noting police call this distracting.
"But Abadie says the law is old and plans to see what a judge has to say."
The Guardian reports, "The outcome of the case could have important ramifications for the use of Glass by groups such as delivery drivers, who might want to use Glass to get driving directions while on the way to locations."
This case comes as others have raised not just safety, but privacy issues when it comes to using Google Glass in the real world.
Last month, a man left a Seattle restaurant after his waitress told him to take off his Glass headset before she could serve him. The owner had already established a no-Google Glass policy. (Via Forbes)
As for Abadie, she says her device was inactive when she was pulled over because she hadn't asked it to perform any tasks for several minutes. At the time of her citation, she said several local attorneys offered to represent her pro bono.
