B.C. woman ticketed for being on phone while in long COVID test line

It’s the Christmas gift no one wants — a woman from Vancouver is frustrated after she says she got a ticket for being on her phone while behind the wheel, even though she was waiting in line for a COVID-19 test at the time.

Kayt Quinn, who’s been experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, says she got the ticket on Wednesday while waiting for her turn at the testing site at BCIT in Burnaby.

She says although she was in the driver’s seat of her vehicle at the time, she claims her car wasn’t moving.

“What essentially was happening was we were all in our cars and we were in the very far right-hand lane on Canada Way. Pretty much everyone’s parked at that point, you know, you’re kind of inching forward,” she explained.

While in the long lineup, Quinn explains she was talking to her brother to update him on what was happening, holding her phone in her hand with him on speaker.

“And I notice a police officer pull up next to me and ask for my driver’s licence and registration. He asked me to pull out of the line [but] I told him that I had been waiting in line for an hour and didn’t want to get out of the line,” she recalled.

“He asked me to pull out of the line and pull up, turn left on the next street. He then issued me a ticket for talking on my phone, even though I said to him we’re all stuck, we’re here just trying to get our tests, barely moving, I didn’t see it to be any danger to be on my phone. But he issued the ticket to me anyway.”

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Quinn was allowed to get back in line, and didn’t lose her spot. But the experience left her surprised.

She feels officers were “preying on people, knowing that they’ll be on their phones” in the lineup.

“Because, what else are you going to be doing while you’re waiting for two-plus hours, you know?”

Testing sites across B.C. have seen incredibly long waits over the past several days, as the province continues to see case counts spike.

While Quinn understands the law, she doesn’t agree with the circumstances, given where she was and what she was doing.

“I was just kind of looking at him like, ‘This is kind of crazy. Right now everybody’s so stressed, it seems a bit much that you guys are sort of sitting here, waiting for people and issuing tickets,'” she said of her interaction with the officer.

The ticket Quinn was handed for “using an electronic device while driving” amounts to $368. She plans to dispute it.

A Metro Vancouver woman says she was ticketed for being on her phone while in a drive-thru testing lineup, even though her vehicle wasn’t moving. (Submitted)

“Nobody knows how to deal with this issue we’re dealing with,” she said of the pandemic and current spread of Omicron. “Everybody’s beyond stressed out, this COVID thing looming over us. We’re just stressed out and it just seems like they’re preying upon people at a time when they know they’re sitting there waiting to find out whether they have COVID or not.”

By law, a driver must not “Hold, operate, communicate or watch the screen of a hand-held electronic communication device,” according to the province’s website. Drivers are also not to “Hold, operate, communicate or watch the screen of a hand-held electronic computing device, one of the purposes of which is to process or compute data.”

The law states the prohibitions do not apply if the driver is “safely parked and off the roadway” or if the person is making a 9-1-1 call.

A phone can be used by a driver if it is “in a hands-free telephone function” and “not held or operated by the hand,” as well as under certain other circumstances.

In an email statement from the Burnaby RCMP, Corporal Brett Cunningham explains that officers have been patrolling the BCIT testing site this week because the lineup has impacted traffic in the area.

“The primary role of the officers on scene is to ensure road safety and prevent collisions, but officers have noted ongoing issues with drivers in line using electronic devices, not wearing seatbelts, blocking intersections, making illegal U-turns, and becoming involved in road rage incidents,” Cunningham said. “Distracted driving has added to road safety concerns caused by long lineups.”

UPDATE: In response to my story re: fine given at COVID testing site, @BurnabyRCMP confirm tickets have been issued in area in rare instances. This particular ticket was issued based on “traffic safety + distracted driving,” adding it was only ticket written that day.@CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/HvO8NLWWeW

— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) December 25, 2021

In some cases, police educate drivers and leave them on their way, but in the rare instance, Cunningham says that tickets have been issued depending on the circumstance.

“We have talked to the police officer that issued this ticket in particular. While Burnaby RCMP is limited in what it can say until this ticket is resolved, it was issued based on circumstances related to traffic safety and distracted driving,” the Mountie added.
The ticket issued to Quinn was the only one written by the traffic unit at the testing site Wednesday.

“We understand the pandemic is having an ongoing negative impact on the public, and our officers do not wish to add to that stress, however, our goal is to ensure all drivers are able to get home safely this holiday season,” Cunningham added.