[exue]

I guess this invalidates what I've been used to for the last 4 years about using phone mapping. [1] I've always wondered what would happen if a police officer thought you were texting but you were actually using a GPS, or changing a song on your iPod (does it matter if it has cellular connection or not?) Presumably we would need to exclude dash-mounted or built-in GPS manipulation as well. This makes everything with phone use more consistent (and restrictive), which may be the right thing to do.

[1] http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2008/12/illegal-a...

[platypii]

I was pulled over for this exact reason in CA. I went to court, showed cell phone logs that I had not made or received any calls or texts, and the case was dismissed. The judge said specifically that "I'm not convinced that using maps is any less dangerous than texting, but I have to rule as a matter of law that if you were not communicating with anyone, then it is not illegal." Apparently angry birds would have been okay too.

(note that this happened in 2012, before the ruling in this article)

[Evbn]

Built in GPS should probably disable input when the car is moving, to discourage distractions.

[kelnos]

Many of the newer units do.