Cell Phone Laws Apply to GPS Use

In People v. Spriggs, decided March 2013, the Appellate Division of the Fresno County Superior Court held that hands-on use of a cell phone’s GPS or other map feature while driving is included in the state’s law on not using a wireless telephone without a hands-free device while operating a motor vehicle.  In layman’s terms, using the GPS or any mapping application in your cell phone with you hands, while driving, is a violation of the cell-phone driving law.  If you want to use GPS or Google Maps or any other application, you need to be able to do it without using your hands.