“Cell Phone Ticket While On Boulevard”

Hi all,

Looking for some info on a ticket I received last year for using a cell phone while driving.

There are some unique circumstances but the short story is that I was parking on the boulevard in downtown Toronto -- this is common practice in my field of work. There were numerous police officers already in the area due to a situation I was pulling up to. I was on the boulevard correcting my parking job when an officer came up to my vehicle. At the same time, my phone rang, I opened the window to talk to the officer and also answered my phone.

The officer gave me a cell phone ticket because "the vehicle was in drive". He had some major attitude and I did phone his superior to complain about his attitude and his tone. The officer threatened me with obstruction of justice!

Anyway, the court date is in a couple of weeks and just wondering what your thoughts are.

Thanks!

Tom

torontotom wrote:Hi all,

Looking for some info on a ticket I received last year for using a cell phone while driving.

There are some unique circumstances but the short story is that I was parking on the boulevard in downtown Toronto -- this is common practice in my field of work. There were numerous police officers already in the area due to a situation I was pulling up to. I was on the boulevard correcting my parking job when an officer came up to my vehicle. At the same time, my phone rang, I opened the window to talk to the officer and also answered my phone.

The officer gave me a cell phone ticket because "the vehicle was in drive". He had some major attitude and I did phone his superior to complain about his attitude and his tone. The officer threatened me with obstruction of justice!

Anyway, the court date is in a couple of weeks and just wondering what your thoughts are.

Thanks!

Tom

The law allows the use of cell phones as long as you are off the road, not impeding traffic, and are legally parked. Of course, this doesn't include sitting at a red light, which is still considered illegal. 911 would also be an exemption.

In my opinion, the officer is correct as having the vehicle in gear is not considered lawfully parked. You are required to prevent the vehicle from moving or being set in motion (foot on the brake not being sufficient), which sounds like it wasn't.