A quick look at Google maps whilst driving will get you a fine, say police
The Thai police have responded to an online post from a driver who complained about being fined for looking at Google maps in his car.
It is a well known fact that using your mobile phone whilst driving is against the law these days. It is also a well known fact that this law get’s broken by thousands of us every single day.
Texting whilst driving is obviously dangerous because your attention is taken away from the road. Phone calls are probably less dangerous, but still illegal non the less. Many of us, however, use google maps when we are lost, but this too is classed as using a mobile phone.
The motorist was fined 200 baht and the citation said that he was “Using a phone while driving a car (watching Google)”.
Police spokesman Jirasan Kaewsaeng-ek pointed out that it doesn’t matter that the driver was using his phone as a GPS looking at Google maps.
He still needed to have his full attention on the road and should have used such things as earphones or an attachment to hold his phone in place on the dash.
He did not so was fined.
Voice TV posted the story saying that the driver was fined according to article 43 (9).
Source: Voice TV.
