Man unhappy after being fined for texting while waiting in queue at drive-through

A man who was issued a nearly $300 ticket for using his mobile phone while waiting in line at a drive-through in Alberta, Canada, says the police officer's actions were “heavy-handed.”



A.J. Daoust says, after he replied to a text message while waiting for his coffee at a Beaumont Tim Hortons last week, a police officer knocked on his window, asked him to pull over, and gave him a $287 ticket for distracted driving. "I said, 'In a drive-through? Really?'" Daoust said.



"He was definitely within his rights … but to me this is ridiculous. It's just kind of heavy-handed." The Alberta Highway Traffic Act restricts drivers from using a hand-held cell phone, texting or emailing while behind the wheel. The legislation applies to drivers on publicly and privately-owned property that drivers are permitted to use for the passage or parking of vehicles.


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Jeff Kasbrick, vice president of government and stakeholder relations at Alberta Motor Association, said it's up the discretion of the police officer when to issue a ticket. "There's the classic, that we see all the time, which is at a red light people will sometimes pull out their cell phones," Kasbrick said. "That's considered a distraction." While Daoust acknowledges what he did, he says he may try to have the ticket fine reduced in court. "It's stupid," he said. "It didn't have to happen, but I guess that's how it goes."