Wearing an Apple Watch whilst driving - is it legal?
Discussion
We all know (or should know) that the law was updated a while back to extend the prohibition on using a mobile phone whilst driving - www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-la...
All the publicity refers to the wording in the legislation that says a "hand-held mobile telephone or a hand-held device capable of transmitting and receiving data, whether or not those capabilities are enabled" - the original 2003 legislation www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/made and the 2022 amendment www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/81/regulation/3/m...
But how does the law deal with wearing an Apple Watch (or whatever the Android equivalent is) whilst driving.
An Apple Watch will allow you to make and receive phone calls (either through an e-sim or connected to your phone), as well as using data for maps, music, emails, etc. but does the law treat it as a [I]'hand held device'[/I.
Obviously a watch isn't 'hand held' if you are wearing it, so does the law allow you make or receive a phone call on a watch whilst driving? - this isn't a 'is it a good idea' question, just a 'is it lawful' question.
But if you are prohibited from making or receiving calls on your watch whilst driving then the law would appear to criminalise even wearing one whilst driving as the 2002 amendment prohibits you "illuminating the screen" of a 'hand held (data) device whilst driving and simply moving your wrist will illuminate the screen on an Apple Watch, or even the more nebulous "accessing the internet" because of course it is all the time anyway.
And the "whether or not those capabilities are enabled" part of the legislation would seem to even remove the option of being legal by putting the watch into 'airline mode' before setting off.
So is every driver wearing an Apple Watch at risk of 6 penalty points and a £200 fine when they get in the car?
All the publicity refers to the wording in the legislation that says a "hand-held mobile telephone or a hand-held device capable of transmitting and receiving data, whether or not those capabilities are enabled" - the original 2003 legislation www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/made and the 2022 amendment www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/81/regulation/3/m...
But how does the law deal with wearing an Apple Watch (or whatever the Android equivalent is) whilst driving.
An Apple Watch will allow you to make and receive phone calls (either through an e-sim or connected to your phone), as well as using data for maps, music, emails, etc. but does the law treat it as a [I]'hand held device'[/I.
Obviously a watch isn't 'hand held' if you are wearing it, so does the law allow you make or receive a phone call on a watch whilst driving? - this isn't a 'is it a good idea' question, just a 'is it lawful' question.
But if you are prohibited from making or receiving calls on your watch whilst driving then the law would appear to criminalise even wearing one whilst driving as the 2002 amendment prohibits you "illuminating the screen" of a 'hand held (data) device whilst driving and simply moving your wrist will illuminate the screen on an Apple Watch, or even the more nebulous "accessing the internet" because of course it is all the time anyway.
And the "whether or not those capabilities are enabled" part of the legislation would seem to even remove the option of being legal by putting the watch into 'airline mode' before setting off.
So is every driver wearing an Apple Watch at risk of 6 penalty points and a £200 fine when they get in the car?
charltjr said:
A watch is not a hand held device by any definition, so no, there is no risk.
I wouldn't be so sure. The legislation states:-"You can use devices with hands-free access, as long as you do not hold them at any time during usage. Hands-free access means using, for example:
a Bluetooth headset
voice command
a dashboard holder or mat
a windscreen mount
a built-in sat nav"
So it doesn't really say either "can" or "can not" when it comes to wrist mounted devices.I
The law is unfortunately not keeping up with technology in this area.
Edited by CanAm on Wednesday 23 August 10:34
CanAm said:
The law is unfortunately not keeping up with technology in this area.
That is certainly true.I just thought it interesting that the law had gone out of its way with the long list of 'you can't do this' in the 2022 amendment to prohibit any kind of mobile phone use whilst driving, but had completely overlooked using a watch, which if you ever have used one to make a call, is certainly a lot less easy than using a phone.
GreatGranny said:
get a grip!
Is that what you would say to 'Constable Savage' if they challenged you about making a call on your watch whilst driving?Edited by PF62 on Wednesday 23 August 11:02
CanAm said:
I wouldn't be so sure. The legislation states:-
"You can use devices with hands-free access, as long as you do not hold them at any time during usage. Hands-free access means using, for example:
a Bluetooth headset
voice command
a dashboard holder or mat
a windscreen mount
a built-in sat nav"
So it doesn't really say either "can" or "can not" when it comes to wrist mounted devices.I
The law is unfortunately not keeping up with technology in this area.
It doesn't need to say "can" or "can not" when it comes to wrist mounted devices because it qualifies those devices you can't use as hand held. A watch is not hand held in the same way a worn jumper isn't hand held. "You can use devices with hands-free access, as long as you do not hold them at any time during usage. Hands-free access means using, for example:
a Bluetooth headset
voice command
a dashboard holder or mat
a windscreen mount
a built-in sat nav"
So it doesn't really say either "can" or "can not" when it comes to wrist mounted devices.I
The law is unfortunately not keeping up with technology in this area.
Edited by CanAm on Wednesday 23 August 10:34
CanAm said:
charltjr said:
A watch is not a hand held device by any definition, so no, there is no risk.
I wouldn't be so sure. The legislation states:-"You can use devices with hands-free access, as long as you do not hold them at any time during usage. Hands-free access means using, for example:
a Bluetooth headset
voice command
a dashboard holder or mat
a windscreen mount
a built-in sat nav"
So it doesn't really say either "can" or "can not" when it comes to wrist mounted devices.I
The law is unfortunately not keeping up with technology in this area.
Edited by CanAm on Wednesday 23 August 10:34
CanAm said:
charltjr said:
A watch is not a hand held device by any definition, so no, there is no risk.
I wouldn't be so sure. The legislation states:-"You can use devices with hands-free access, as long as you do not hold them at any time during usage. Hands-free access means using, for example:
a Bluetooth headset
voice command
a dashboard holder or mat
a windscreen mount
a built-in sat nav"
So it doesn't really say either "can" or "can not" when it comes to wrist mounted devices.I
The law is unfortunately not keeping up with technology in this area.
Edited by CanAm on Wednesday 23 August 10:34
There is other legislation which covers distraction / due care when using any device in a car.
PF62 said:
An Apple Watch will allow you to make and receive phone calls (either through an e-sim or connected to your phone), as well as using data for maps, music, emails, etc. but does the law treat it as a 'hand held device'.
Obviously a watch isn't 'hand held' if you are wearing it, so does the law allow you make or receive a phone call on a watch whilst driving? - this isn't a 'is it a good idea' question, just a 'is it lawful' question.
But see 110 (6) (a) Obviously a watch isn't 'hand held' if you are wearing it, so does the law allow you make or receive a phone call on a watch whilst driving? - this isn't a 'is it a good idea' question, just a 'is it lawful' question.
(6) For the purposes of this regulation—
(a)a mobile telephone or other device is to be treated as hand-held if it is, or must be, held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or performing any other interactive communication function;
The device needs to be held but maybe not necessarily in the hand. My view is that this would be interpreted widely to include any bodily support which would include the wrist. (I seem to recall someone being convicted for holding the phone between their shoulder and head).
PF62 said:
But if you are prohibited from making or receiving calls on your watch whilst driving then the law would appear to criminalise even wearing one whilst driving as the 2002 amendment prohibits you "illuminating the screen" of a 'hand held (data) device whilst driving and simply moving your wrist will illuminate the screen on an Apple Watch, or even the more nebulous "accessing the internet" because of course it is all the time anyway.
And the "whether or not those capabilities are enabled" part of the legislation would seem to even remove the option of being legal by putting the watch into 'airline mode' before setting off.
So is every driver wearing an Apple Watch at risk of 6 penalty points and a £200 fine when they get in the car?
The 'whether or not those capablities are enabled' only refers to defining what is a relevant device. For the offence to be made out the driver would have to be 'using' the device. And the "whether or not those capabilities are enabled" part of the legislation would seem to even remove the option of being legal by putting the watch into 'airline mode' before setting off.
So is every driver wearing an Apple Watch at risk of 6 penalty points and a £200 fine when they get in the car?
However, this would appear to preclude looking at the watch to see the time, which of course would not be an offence with a normal watch.
In summary, I cannot see how you could commit an offence merely by wearing an Apple Watch whist driving but I would expect to be prosecuted if I was caught interacting with it whilst driving.
(can't seem to do italics)
Edited by Zeeky on Wednesday 23 August 12:53
PF62 said:
We all know (or should know) that the law was updated a while back to extend the prohibition on using a mobile phone whilst driving - www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-la...
All the publicity refers to the wording in the legislation that says a "hand-held mobile telephone or a hand-held device capable of transmitting and receiving data, whether or not those capabilities are enabled" - the original 2003 legislation www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/made and the 2022 amendment www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/81/regulation/3/m...
But how does the law deal with wearing an Apple Watch (or whatever the Android equivalent is) whilst driving.
An Apple Watch will allow you to make and receive phone calls (either through an e-sim or connected to your phone), as well as using data for maps, music, emails, etc. but does the law treat it as a [I]'hand held device'[/I.
Obviously a watch isn't 'hand held' if you are wearing it, so does the law allow you make or receive a phone call on a watch whilst driving? - this isn't a 'is it a good idea' question, just a 'is it lawful' question.
But if you are prohibited from making or receiving calls on your watch whilst driving then the law would appear to criminalise even wearing one whilst driving as the 2002 amendment prohibits you "illuminating the screen" of a 'hand held (data) device whilst driving and simply moving your wrist will illuminate the screen on an Apple Watch, or even the more nebulous "accessing the internet" because of course it is all the time anyway.
And the "whether or not those capabilities are enabled" part of the legislation would seem to even remove the option of being legal by putting the watch into 'airline mode' before setting off.
So is every driver wearing an Apple Watch at risk of 6 penalty points and a £200 fine when they get in the car?
The fine is level 3 or 4. A fixed penalty is £200.All the publicity refers to the wording in the legislation that says a "hand-held mobile telephone or a hand-held device capable of transmitting and receiving data, whether or not those capabilities are enabled" - the original 2003 legislation www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2695/made and the 2022 amendment www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/81/regulation/3/m...
But how does the law deal with wearing an Apple Watch (or whatever the Android equivalent is) whilst driving.
An Apple Watch will allow you to make and receive phone calls (either through an e-sim or connected to your phone), as well as using data for maps, music, emails, etc. but does the law treat it as a [I]'hand held device'[/I.
Obviously a watch isn't 'hand held' if you are wearing it, so does the law allow you make or receive a phone call on a watch whilst driving? - this isn't a 'is it a good idea' question, just a 'is it lawful' question.
But if you are prohibited from making or receiving calls on your watch whilst driving then the law would appear to criminalise even wearing one whilst driving as the 2002 amendment prohibits you "illuminating the screen" of a 'hand held (data) device whilst driving and simply moving your wrist will illuminate the screen on an Apple Watch, or even the more nebulous "accessing the internet" because of course it is all the time anyway.
And the "whether or not those capabilities are enabled" part of the legislation would seem to even remove the option of being legal by putting the watch into 'airline mode' before setting off.
So is every driver wearing an Apple Watch at risk of 6 penalty points and a £200 fine when they get in the car?
The specific offence is only made out if the phone or interactive communication device is held in your hand whilst driving.
Explained here:
"... the offence of using a hand-held mobile phone or similar device is triggered when a driver holds a mobile phone or similar device and uses it regardless of whether that use involves interactive communication."
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2022/81/pdfs/u...
Zeeky said:
PF62 said:
An Apple Watch will allow you to make and receive phone calls (either through an e-sim or connected to your phone), as well as using data for maps, music, emails, etc. but does the law treat it as a 'hand held device'.
Obviously a watch isn't 'hand held' if you are wearing it, so does the law allow you make or receive a phone call on a watch whilst driving? - this isn't a 'is it a good idea' question, just a 'is it lawful' question.
But see 110 (6) (a) Obviously a watch isn't 'hand held' if you are wearing it, so does the law allow you make or receive a phone call on a watch whilst driving? - this isn't a 'is it a good idea' question, just a 'is it lawful' question.
(6) For the purposes of this regulation—
(a)a mobile telephone or other device is to be treated as hand-held if it is, or must be, held at some point during the course of making or receiving a call or performing any other interactive communication function;
The device needs to be held but maybe not necessarily in the hand. My view is that this would be interpreted widely to include any bodily support which would include the wrist. (I seem to recall someone being convicted for holding the phone between their shoulder and head).
Zeeky said:
PF62 said:
But if you are prohibited from making or receiving calls on your watch whilst driving then the law would appear to criminalise even wearing one whilst driving as the 2002 amendment prohibits you "illuminating the screen" of a 'hand held (data) device whilst driving and simply moving your wrist will illuminate the screen on an Apple Watch, or even the more nebulous "accessing the internet" because of course it is all the time anyway.
And the "whether or not those capabilities are enabled" part of the legislation would seem to even remove the option of being legal by putting the watch into 'airline mode' before setting off.
So is every driver wearing an Apple Watch at risk of 6 penalty points and a £200 fine when they get in the car?
The 'whether or not those capablities are enabled' only refers to defining what is a relevant device. For the offence to be made out the driver would have to be 'using' the device. And the "whether or not those capabilities are enabled" part of the legislation would seem to even remove the option of being legal by putting the watch into 'airline mode' before setting off.
So is every driver wearing an Apple Watch at risk of 6 penalty points and a £200 fine when they get in the car?
However, this would appear to preclude looking at the watch to see the time, which of course would not be an offence with a normal watch.
In summary, I cannot see how you could commit an offence merely by wearing an Apple Watch whist driving but I would expect to be prosecuted if I was caught interacting with it whilst driving.
Thus once the watch is caught by either being a mobile phone or a "hand held device which performs an interactive communication function by transmitting and receiving data" then the regulations prohibit you from using it to -
(i) illuminating the screen;
(ii)checking the time;
(iii)checking notifications;
(iv)unlocking the device;
(v)making, receiving, or rejecting a telephone or internet based call;
(vi)sending, receiving or uploading oral or written content;
(vii)sending, receiving or uploading a photo or video;
(viii)utilising camera, video, or sound recording functionality;
(ix)drafting any text;
(x)accessing any stored data such as documents, books, audio files, photos, videos, films, playlists, notes or messages;
(xi)accessing an application;
(xii)accessing the internet.”.
That means just looking at the watch to check the time is caught under ii in the list!
Interesting. I look on an Apple watch ( other brands included) as a dual action device.
Action 1 it is a watch. In that mode it is no different to an ordinary watch.
Action 2 it is a smart device capable of communications actions.
If using it solely as a watch it cannot be illegal surely?
Using the smart function puts it into a different category where laws apply. Would it be deemed hand held in a court? Are there any case law examples?
The crucial factor to me is actually touching it in smart mode instead of voice activation. Worn on left wrist and using right hand to use the functions. Is that making it a hand held device? On your wrist as opposed to in the hand?
I have a smart watch for golf. Used as a normal watch but linked to my mobile for golf use. Press buttons for various outputs, scroll menus etc. If an Apple watch is similar then there is no way it should be used as such while driving, but voice activation probably ok.
That appears to be the debatable point.
Action 1 it is a watch. In that mode it is no different to an ordinary watch.
Action 2 it is a smart device capable of communications actions.
If using it solely as a watch it cannot be illegal surely?
Using the smart function puts it into a different category where laws apply. Would it be deemed hand held in a court? Are there any case law examples?
The crucial factor to me is actually touching it in smart mode instead of voice activation. Worn on left wrist and using right hand to use the functions. Is that making it a hand held device? On your wrist as opposed to in the hand?
I have a smart watch for golf. Used as a normal watch but linked to my mobile for golf use. Press buttons for various outputs, scroll menus etc. If an Apple watch is similar then there is no way it should be used as such while driving, but voice activation probably ok.
That appears to be the debatable point.
monthou said:
No. Just no.
It's strapped to your wrist, not held in your hand, or held at all.
IANAL but I can understand English.
Remember this is Pistonheads - 45% of members are absolute idiots and another 45% chose to be difficult. It can be difficult to find the sensible and reasonable people.It's strapped to your wrist, not held in your hand, or held at all.
IANAL but I can understand English.
Sorry for the Fail link ...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2117417/M...
Could not resist
I'd say that using a watch to make a call or to press some buttons or whatever probably does not come under the hands free laws .. However if there were to be an accident then the call logs may come up and although using a valid device would then be charged under distraction - which can also be applied to using a hands free device .. Well I think so anyhow !
Arf
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2117417/M...
Could not resist
I'd say that using a watch to make a call or to press some buttons or whatever probably does not come under the hands free laws .. However if there were to be an accident then the call logs may come up and although using a valid device would then be charged under distraction - which can also be applied to using a hands free device .. Well I think so anyhow !
Arf
PF62 said:
The "whether or not those capabilities are enabled" is in relation to if it is not a mobile phone but a "hand-held device" that is a "device, other than a two-way radio, which performs an interactive communication function by transmitting and receiving data" - well even if you successfully argued it isn't a phone then it is clearly a device "which performs an interactive communication function by transmitting and receiving data".
Thus once the watch is caught by either being a mobile phone or a "hand held device which performs an interactive communication function by transmitting and receiving data" then the regulations prohibit you from using it to -
(i) illuminating the screen;
(ii)checking the time;
(iii)checking notifications;
(iv)unlocking the device;
(v)making, receiving, or rejecting a telephone or internet based call;
(vi)sending, receiving or uploading oral or written content;
(vii)sending, receiving or uploading a photo or video;
(viii)utilising camera, video, or sound recording functionality;
(ix)drafting any text;
(x)accessing any stored data such as documents, books, audio files, photos, videos, films, playlists, notes or messages;
(xi)accessing an application;
(xii)accessing the internet.”.
That means just looking at the watch to check the time is caught under ii in the list!
If you’d care to explain which part of “hand held” is causing you such a dilemma I’ll do my best to explain but, generally, watches haven’t been hand held since people were regularly wearing waistcoats and Albert chains…Thus once the watch is caught by either being a mobile phone or a "hand held device which performs an interactive communication function by transmitting and receiving data" then the regulations prohibit you from using it to -
(i) illuminating the screen;
(ii)checking the time;
(iii)checking notifications;
(iv)unlocking the device;
(v)making, receiving, or rejecting a telephone or internet based call;
(vi)sending, receiving or uploading oral or written content;
(vii)sending, receiving or uploading a photo or video;
(viii)utilising camera, video, or sound recording functionality;
(ix)drafting any text;
(x)accessing any stored data such as documents, books, audio files, photos, videos, films, playlists, notes or messages;
(xi)accessing an application;
(xii)accessing the internet.”.
That means just looking at the watch to check the time is caught under ii in the list!
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