“This case involved an individual who was observed by an officer – there was conflict in the evidence, the officer says he saw the man pick up his phone and move it to the passenger seat. The accused testified that the phone was simply sitting on the seat next to him, leaning on his body… Ultimately the court said that it doesn’t really matter because if you’re phone is leaning against your body, that is still considered holding your phone and using your phone in the meaning of the MVA.”
“It’s obviously not possible to get a crystal clear law, but the one that we have is very vague. It simply prohibits using a phone and then it defines ‘use’ in a couple different places – both in the MVA as well as in regulations which makes it very inaccessible, and even those definitions aren’t very clear.”