Mayor Derek Corrigan has had his day in court – it just wasn’t a good day.
On Wednesday, Corrigan unsuccessfully disputed his July 2013 distracted driving ticket at Robson Square Provincial Court. He was ticketed for using an electronic device while driving southbound on Willingdon Avenue near Sanderson Way.
Const. Jonathan Gillis, a six-year peace officer with the Burnaby RCMP, testified that at 7:25 p.m. on July 11, 2013, Corrigan was holding his cellphone in his right hand and touching the screen with his thumb while driving his black Kia Sorento past BCIT.
Gillis, who was driving an RCMP motorcycle in the right HOV lane, said he pulled up along the passenger side of the Sorento and motioned for Corrigan to pull over, at which point he issued the ticket.
But Corrigan claimed the phone was inoperative, saying he realized the battery had died before getting into his handsfree-equipped crossover. The mayor said he was coming from an event at the Delta Burnaby Hotel and had tried to call his wife to say he was running late, only to find the phone had no power.
“Because I was in a hurry, I didn’t take it out of my hand,” he said.
Corrigan, who once was a defense lawyer, questioned if Gillis mistook glare from the screen for proof of the phone being on, and argued that the officer may not have gotten a good enough look at the dead phone.
“I suggest it must’ve been a very brief opportunity that you had because you dropped back to the right rear of the car,” said Corrigan.
Gillis responded, saying he only dropped back after getting the mayor’s attention to give him room to pull over.
Corrigan also claimed he offered to show the officer that the phone was dead, but said Gillis declined to look at it, saying holding it while driving was enough to warrant a ticket.
“At no time did I intend to use the telephone while I was driving,” said Corrigan. “At no time did I use the telephone while I was driving. I tried to have the officer look at it so that he would be able to ascertain that.”
In the cross-examination period, Gillis pointed out that to get from the Delta to where he was pulled over, Corrigan would have held the phone through a left turn onto Canada Way, a right turn onto Willingdon and through the lights at Goard Way.
“Do you normally hold a dead cellphone in your hand while driving?” asked Gillis.
The mayor reiterated he was in a hurry and attributed holding the phone to absentmindedness and a lack of knowledge that he could be ticketed simply for holding a dead phone in his hand. He likened holding a dead phone while driving to holding a wallet or a brick.
In his submission, Corrigan said he understood the seriousness of the offence – despite calling it a “minor infraction” when he spoke to the NOW in June – and noted he is sometimes reluctant to even use his handsfree device while driving.
Nonetheless, he argued that the phone, being inoperative, could not have been distracting.
Judicial Justice Brian Burgess summarized the testimony before quoting the Motor Vehicle Act, highlighting that the definition of using an electronic device while driving includes “holding the device in a position in which it may be used.”
He referenced Corrigan’s brick/wallet analogy and noted they are dissimilar to a cellphone.
“There is a difference between a cellphone – even a cellphone that has a dead battery – and a wallet or a brick, and that is that there is legislation prohibiting a driver from using a cellphone while driving.”
Based on the evidence, Burgess handed down a guilty verdict and upheld the penalty. Holding a cellphone while driving is worth a $167 fine and three driver penalty points, according to ICBC.
