You could be slapped with a £5,000 fine and NINE penalty points for using your smart watch while driving
EVERY driver should know the penalty for using their phone behind the wheel – but the law doesn’t just apply to mobiles.
Motorists can be fined for using a smart watch while in control of their car.
Just as you can be fined £200 and slapped with six points for touching the screen on your phone, tapping on a wearable device like an Apple Watch could attract a similar penalty.
Police can charge you with distracted driving if they think using your watch has stopped you from paying attention to the road and meant you are not in full control of the vehicle.
Alternatively, if you are distracted and do something careless because you were checking your smart watch, you could be charged with driving without due care and attention (careless driving).
This would see you given an on-the-spot £100 fine and three points.
And if the case goes to court and you’re convicted, you could receive a £5,000 fine and up to nine penalty points – or even be banned from the road.
Last year, a Canadian motorist was fined £230 after she was caught using her Apple Watch while stopped at a set of lights.
Student Victoria Ambrose was seen checking her watch by a police officer in April.
The cop told the court she failed to move her car when the traffic lights changed because she was so focused on her watch.
Ambrose claimed she was “checking the time” but was still charged with distracted driving after a judge said the watch was like having a “cellphone strapped to her wrist”.
British motorists can face a similar penalty, with the UK’s Department for Transport previously telling the BBC that laws designed to deter people from checking gadgets while driving also applied to smart watches.
And you don’t have to be moving to be hit with a fine either.
Drivers who use a device while stopped at a set of lights, queuing in traffic or trying to program a sat nav will also be penalised.
the road laws you need to know
According to IAM RoadSmart, a charge of careless driving would be more likely for using your smart watch, and could even see a more serious penalty imposed.
Neil Greig, IAM RoadSmart director of policy and research, said: “You would be more likely given a careless driving fixed penalty of £100 plus three points.
“Any charge would be as a result of being seen to swerve or drive too close i.e. not giving due attention.
“If you were involved in an serious accident and it could be proved you were on your smart watch it would be an aggravating factor that would lead to a longer ban or higher fine in court.
“Driving requires your complete attention so any distraction from a smart watch could be fatal.”