Updated - Exonerated!! Man Gets Ticket for Driving While Eating a Cheeseburger

[JEDIYoda]

There is a real problem in our country wqith Police abuse of powers...etc

Gotta Love all the pro-Police people who insisted that this man had to be doing something wrong in order to get a ticket for JUST eating a Hamburger!!

[https://gma.yahoo.com/man-ticketed-...r-vindicated-025900144--abc-news-Recipes.html

A man who was cited for distracted driving in Georgia when a police officer saw him eating a cheeseburger while behind the wheel has been vindicated, the Associated Press reported.

The police officer in question, whose name has not been released, cited Cobb County's distracted driver law.

Cobb County Solicitor General Barry Morgan said in a written statement Friday that his office submitted a dismissal of the case against Madison Turner, and a judge signed it. Morgan said the state didn't believe it had the evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, given the facts and circumstances his office investigated, according to AP.

"Maybe I was enjoying the burger too much. I needed to tone it down,” driver Madison Turner told ABC affiliate WSB-TV last month. “I was certainly willing to do so but I didn’t expect to be fined or punished.”

Turner's attorney earlier said he expected the ticket to be overturned because many drivers, himself included, eat and drive.

"I’ve only seen something like this charge when there’s an accident,” attorney William Head said to WSB-TV. “There was no accident here, so the fact that this man was charged with eating and driving is a first for me.”



B]This is getting to be a little too much! Is Cobb County hurting that much for funds that they are ticketing for eating while driving!!

Just woza!![/B]


http://abcnews.go.com/US/man-ticket-driving-eating-cheeseburger/story?id=28326114

A man was cited for allegedly distracted driving in Georgia when a police officer saw him eating a cheeseburger while behind the wheel, according to ABC affiliate WSB-TV.

The police officer in question, whose name has not been released, cited Cobb County's distracted driver law, and the driver has a court date scheduled for Feb. 3, the Atlanta station said.

"Maybe I was enjoying the burger too much. I needed to tone it down,” driver Madison Turner told the station. “I was certainly willing to do so but I didn’t expect to be fined or punished.”

Cobb County Court would not comment to WSB-TV because the case is ongoing, but Turner's attorney said he expects it to be overturned because many drivers, himself included, eat and drive.

"I’ve only seen something like this charge when there’s an accident,” attorney William Head said to WSB-TV. “There was no accident here, so the fact that this man was charged with eating and driving is a first for me.”

 

[dmcowen674]

Is Cobb County hurting that much for funds that they are ticketing for eating while driving!!

Yes they are that desperate. It's the county just north of Atlanta.

They spent so much money on frivolous stuff they can't afford to pay their police force anymore so this cop was just trying to keep a paycheck.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Actually he was cited for distracted driving.

http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html

 

[Brainonska511]

Actually he was cited for distracted driving.

http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html

Hold on, let me just answer this fax while I'm driving.

 

[master_shake_]

We've had that law in Ontario forever.

 

[theeedude]

Dumbfvckistan doing their thang.

 

[smackababy]

Do people really believe they are able to stuff their face with a burger and maintain the proper attention one should have while driving a vehicle? Let me guess, you can text and drive just fine too right? Or, you drive better after a few beers?

 

[bradley]

Not finding any outrage here. Distracted driving kills more than drunk driving. Driving without a seatbelt only harms the passenger, while distracted drivers are a menace to society at large. Every single DUI should face potential incrimination.

 

[Dari]

Do people really believe they are able to stuff their face with a burger and maintain the proper attention one should have while driving a vehicle? Let me guess, you can text and drive just fine too right? Or, you drive better after a few beers?

It's a fucking hamburger. If you can't direct the burger to your mouth with one hand and drive with the other then you should not be driving at all. It's not like everyone keeps both hands on the wheels at all times...

 

[Moonbeam]

I can't drive and chew gum.

 

[TechBoyJK]

If cheeseburgers... definitely coffee. Some asshat spilling their coffee in rush hour traffic can kill 1000 people in one accident.

 

[smackababy]

It's a fucking hamburger. If you can't direct the burger to your mouth with one hand and drive with the other then you should not be driving at all. It's not like everyone keeps both hands on the wheels at all times...

Have you eaten a hamburger? You actually believe that you can keep most of your attention on the road, with little to no slowing in reaction time, while eating a hamburger? If you really think that, you're an idiot. Distractions cause accidents, be it hamburgers or cell phones. If you are so hungry you can't wait to get home to eat, park the fucking car and stuff your face. If you'd rather run down a kid because you had ketchup drip down and took your eyes off the road, do it somewhere else.

 

[HomerJS]

Doesn't having small kids in the car a distraction? Crying newborn will distract mother.

No infants in cars??

 

[DCal430]

Interesting fact, in California it is legal to play angry birds on your phone while driving, in fact it is legal to surf the web on your phone while driving. In fact you can watch movies on your phone while driving and that is still legal.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Actually he was cited for distracted driving.

http://www.distraction.gov/content/g...tatistics.html

you can actually say with a straight face??

He was essentially ticketed for eating a cheeseburger while driving...or he was ticketed for DUI of a cheeseburger...........

 

[Londo_Jowo]

you can actually say with a straight face??

He was essentially ticketed for eating a cheeseburger while driving...or he was ticketed for DUI of a cheeseburger...........

You have no clue what led up to the police pulling him over...............other than what the guy who was cited for distracted driving has claimed.

Did he serve into another lane? Almost strike another car or pedestrian?

 

[Brainonska511]

Interesting fact, in California it is legal to play angry birds on your phone while driving, in fact it is legal to surf the web on your phone while driving. In fact you can watch movies on your phone while driving and that is still legal.

I'm pretty sure those things are illegal, especially the watching a movie part, even if not spelled out explicitly with regards to mobile phones. It seems to already be covered by Division 12/Chapter 5/Article 5/Section 27602 of the California vehicle code:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/vctop/vc/d12/c5/a5/27602

27602. (a) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle if a television receiver, a video monitor, or a television or video screen, or any other similar means of visually displaying a television broadcast or video signal that produces entertainment or business applications, is operating and is located in the motor vehicle at a point forward of the back of the driver's seat, or is operating and the monitor, screen, or display is visible to the driver while driving the motor vehicle.

(bolding is mine)

 

[DCal430]

I'm pretty sure those things are illegal, especially the watching a movie part, even if not spelled out explicitly with regards to mobile phones. It seems to already be covered by section 27602 of the California vehicle code:
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/pubs/vctop/vc/d12/c5/a5/27602
(bolding is mine)

Ok the movie part may be illegal,but the supreme court of california has ruled the laws on hands free device only apply to texting to communicate and calling. That other uses of phone legal, including playing games.

A person was caught driving, and had his phone in his hands and was typing into the phone map app. He was actively using his hands on the phone while driving, looking down at the phone and not the road. The court ruled what he did was legal, because no law forbids this and hands free driving law only apply to communication text and calling, and nothing else.

 

[nickqt]

Cobb County is also home to Kennesaw, the city that voted against allowing a mosque in their city.

Because outside of Atlanta, it's Mississippi. On viagra.

 

[Brainonska511]

Ok the movie part may be illegal,but the supreme court of california has ruled the laws on hands free device only apply to texting to communicate and calling. That other uses of phone legal, including playing games.

A person was caught driving, and had his phone in his hands and was typing into the phone map app. He was actively using his hands on the phone while driving, looking down at the phone and not the road. The court ruled what he did was legal, because no law forbids this and hands free driving law only apply to communication text and calling, and nothing else.

It seems like California uses Section 22350: "unsafe speed for prevailing conditions" as a catchall for distracted driving.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-co...a-court-oks-using-cellphone-map-while-driving

For its part, the California Highway Patrol said Thursday that any of those distractions can still lead to a ticket.

The CHP said that a driver paying too much attention to a little screen and not the road can be cited for distracted driving -- which carries fines similar to that of the hands-free law.

"As with every ruling, the department will see if any action is needed, but we will continue our enforcement the way we do it," said CHP spokesman Sean Wilkenfeld.

He said drivers can be cited for anything an officer considers a distraction, such as reading a magazine, drinking a latte, fussing with kids in the back seat -- or poking around on a mapping device.

http://articles.latimes.com/2002/jun/18/local/me-wheel18

...
It's not that the driver was going 10 mph over the speed limit. It's that he was doing it while watching a soccer match on a portable television set he held in one hand. The driver used his other hand to adjust the antenna--it is difficult, after all, to get good reception in a moving car. He used his knees to steer.

Pace cited him for driving at an unsafe speed for prevailing conditions. "The safe speed for driving with no hands is zero miles per hour," Pace said.
...
There is no violation in the California Vehicle Code for driving while applying makeup. Instead, law enforcement officers typically cite distracted drivers under Section 22350: unsafe speed for prevailing conditions. It is the equivalent of a speeding ticket.

 

[Dari]

Have you eaten a hamburger? You actually believe that you can keep most of your attention on the road, with little to no slowing in reaction time, while eating a hamburger? If you really think that, you're an idiot. Distractions cause accidents, be it hamburgers or cell phones. If you are so hungry you can't wait to get home to eat, park the fucking car and stuff your face. If you'd rather run down a kid because you had ketchup drip down and took your eyes off the road, do it somewhere else.

The only idiot in this thread is you. Yes, I've eaten a hamburger and driven and the hamburger did not impair me one bit. Seriously, you cannot eat and drive? A hamburger? No one is asking you to drink soup with chopsticks. And there are plenty of things that can distract someone in a car. Taking a burger or fries or soda and directing it to your mouth is a distraction, but nowhere near critical. It isn't distracting like a phone where you HAVE to take your eyes off the road.

Shit, when did common sense and personal responsibility become the purview of the government? I can't believe we're having this argument. Sad.

 

[Dari]

Cobb County is also home to Kennesaw, the city that voted against allowing a mosque in their city.

Because outside of Atlanta, it's Mississippi. On viagra.

Isn't Cobb county where the chief of police shot his wife?

 

[Victorian Gray]

Eating at the wheel doubles accident rates

"New research shows that drivers are nearly twice as likely to be taken by surprise if a pedestrian walks in front of their car when they are snacking at the wheel."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...-the-wheel-doubles-accident-rates-456433.html

Eating While Driving Riskier Than Being Legally Impaired By Alcohol Or Texting

"According to a study by the University of Leeds called “Two Hands Better than One,” this is exactly what researchers found based on observation of test subjects operating driving simulators.

The UK researchers measured reaction time while drivers negotiated virtual vehicles, and as it turns out, eating increased response times by 44 percent.

In contrast, texting increased reaction time by 37 percent, and drinking a non-alcoholic beverage from a can or bottle increased reaction time by 22 percent.

And what about the one driving no-no that that nearly everyone agrees is undesirable – drinking alcohol and operating a vehicle?

Drivers asked to operate the simulator who were at the U.S. “legal limit” of .08 percent blood alcohol content increased reaction time by 12.5 percent."

http://www.hybridcars.com/eating-while-driving-riskier-being-legally-impaired-or-texting-45569/

 

[nickqt]

Isn't Cobb county where the chief of police shot his wife?

That's 30 miles southwest of Atlanta (whereas Cobb is north of Atlanta) but it doesn't negate what I said, knowwhatimean?

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Isn't Cobb county where the chief of police shot his wife?

No, that was in Peachtree City which is in Fayette County.